Wake County: Economic 
AND Social 



THE WAKE COUNTY CLUB 

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA 

APRIL, 1918 




EDITORIAL BOARD 

G. B. Lay Editor-in-Chief and Business Manager 

W. H. Stephenson Assistant Business Manager 

0. R. Cunningham R. C. Maxwell 

T. P. Harrison, Jr. J. R. Pearson 



\]o'r\h Carolina. U-niVersity. W^Ke courify club., 

Wake County: Economic 
AND Social 



THE WAKE COUNTY CLUB 

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA 

APRIL, 1918 




EDITORIAL BOARD 

G. B. Lay Editor-in-Chief and Business Manager 

W. H. Stephenson Assistant Business Manager 

0. R. Cunningham R. C. Maxwell 

T. P. Harrison, Jr. J. R. Pearson 






EDWARDS & BROUGHTON PRINTING CO. 

Raleigh, N. G. 

1918 

In Bxchango 

Uyiv. of N orth Carolina 
SEP 2 7 1933 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Acknowledgments 5 

Foreword 6 

A Short History of Wake 7 

J. R. Pearson 

Ealeigh, Our Capital City 11 

W. H. STBa>HENSON 

Natural Resources, Industries, and Opportunities 17 

O. R. Cunningham 

Wealth and Taxation in Wake County 24: 

R. C. Maxwell 

Farm Conditions, Farm Practices, and the Local Market 
Problem 29 

■ T, P. Harbison, Jr. 

Seven-year Gains in Wake County Rural Schools 42 

O. R. Cunningham 

Where Wake Leads 48 

G. B. Lay 

Our Problems and Their Solution 57 

G. B. Lay 



Acknowledgments 



To issue any publication requires two things : the efforts and 
dollars of men. The former we have found in a group of col- 
lege students at the University of North Carolina from Wake 
County — men who are interested in Wake's standing among the 
counties of the State and who are eager in every way possible to 
raise this standing and place every phase of Wake's economic 
and social development ahead of that of any other county in this 
State. In the preparation of this Bulletin they have been greatly 
assisted by the general direction and kind assistance of Dr. E. C. 
Branson, head of the University Department of Rural Econom- 
ics; by the reading of the final manuscript by Mr. R. D. W. 
Connor; and by the many suggestions and assistance given by 
various other public-spirited men throughout the county. 

The other requirement is financial backing. In this we are 
grateful to these public-spirited men who by their liberal support 
have made the Wake County Bulletin possible : 

Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. 

Citizens N^ational Bank, Raleigh. 

Commercial National Bank, Raleigh. 

Dillon Supply Co., Raleigh. 

Hudson-Belk Co., Raleigh. 

Raleigh Banking and Trust Co. 

Hicks' Drug Stores, Raleigh. 

Allen Brothers & Fort, Real Estate, Raleigh. 

Farmers and Merchants Bank, Apex. 

Dr. John B. Wright, Raleigh. 

Henry E. Litchford, Richmond, Va. 

Major W. A. Graham, Raleigh. 

Edwards & Brought on Printing Co., Raleigh. 



Foreword 

This Bulletin, ^Yake County : Economic mid Social, issued by 
the Wako County students at the University of North Carolina, 
is the third ol its kind to be issued in America ; the first 
(Sampson County: Economic and Social) having also been 
issued by University students in May, 1917. It is a social and 
economic studv of the Wake County of today, which is the basis 
of the Wake County of tomorrow. 

Books in plenty have been written about the world in general, 
but this study is devoted to a particular part of the world : Wake 
County. It is a study of county economics, a source-book of 
information which has long been in process of collection by the 
North Carolina Club, and which has been assembled and inter- 
preted by the Wake County Club. It should stimulate a county 
pride and an interest in county welfare. 

The advantage of this Bulletin to Wake County is not meas- 
urable solely in terms of its contents. It represents a county 
consciousness on the part of the men who have written it. It 
reveals a constructive interest in the welfare of their home 
county. The process of preparing it has given them an invalu- 
able laboratory training in county conditions and problems 
which has fitted them for constructive citizenship in their home 
county. 

This work is an expression of a distinct movement beginning 
in the University of North Carolina. It purposes to relate edu- 
cation to immediate, practical service. It is significant as ex- 
pressing the growing interest of students in the practical prob- 
lems of citizenship, which augurs well for the future. The in- 
terest manifested in it by the business men of Wake County, 
who have made possible its distribution, is expressive of a new 
spirit in business which seeks its welfare in promoting the wel- 
fare of those it serves. . -mt r^ 

Albert M. Coates, 

President, The North Carolina Cluh. 



A Short History of Wake 

J. R. Pearson, Apex 

Wake County is located in the central part of IsTorth Carolina, 
on the eastern edge of the Piedmont Plateau, and is bounded by 
Johnston, Harnett, Lee, Chatham, Durham, Granville, and 
Franklin counties. Its territory affords the greatest possible agri- 
cultural advantages. Only Kobeson County has a larger number 
of rural people, and no other section of the State produces crops 
of a greater variety or larger total value. Wake's average 
annual temperature is 60 degrees and its rainfall around 52 
inches a year. Its climate is free from the sudden extremes of 
heat and cold of the Mississippi valley States. The natural 
conditions of health are unsurpassed. Her soils and seasons are 
suitable to cotton and tobacco, the grains, hay and forage, and to 
profitable livestock farming. There are no better country 
schools in this or any other State. In agricultural opportunities, 
school and church advantages there is no better county of the 
State to live in. 

Within the boundaries of Wake are the State Capitol, various 
other department buildings, the Central State Hospital for the 
Insane, the State Schools for the Blind, the State College of 
Agriculture and Engineering, Wake Forest College, Peace In- 
stitute, St. Mary's School, and Meredith College, the City High 
School, four farm-life schools, Shaw University, and St. Augus- 
tine. With these superior advantages, Wake ought to be at- 
tractive to homeseekers from the North and Middle West. 

Name of the County 

Wake preserves the maiden name of the wife of Tryon, a 
royal Governor in the Colonial period. However, some author- 
ities claim this honor for Esther Wake, a sister of Lady Tryon. 



8 Wahe County : Economic and Social 

Foundation of Wake 

Wake County was created bj the General Assembly of 1770, 
during Governor Tryon's administration. The act of erection 
may be found in the existing courthouse records under the date 
of September 12, 1771, in Book A, pages four, five, and six. In 
June of 1771 Wake's first court convened. The Capital City 
vv^as located in Wake by an act of the General Assembly of 1791, 
and it M^as located and surveyed by nine commissioners in 1792. 
Its name preserves the memory of Sir Walter Raleigh. Michael 
Rogers, maternal great-grandfather of the late F. J. Haywood, 
was Wake's first sheriff. There has been a steady increase in 
the population of the county since 1790. The census at that 
time showed 10,182 inhabitants; in 1910 there were 63,229. 
The increase in the last census period was 57 per cent. 

Territorial Changes 

Territorial changes in Wake since its establishment have been 
effected only twice. In 1881 Oak Grove Township lost a part 
of its area in the creation of Durham County. In 1911 still 
another portion of this township was transferred to the same 
county. Since that time the remaining portion of Oak Grove 
has been combined with portions of Barton's Creek and House's 
Creek into Leesville Township. With these two exceptions, no 
material changes have been effected in the territory of Wake in 
her entire history. The addition of this new township made a 
total of nineteen tovpnships in Wake, as follows : Barton's Creek, 
Buckhorn, Cary, Cedar Fork, Holly Springs, House's Creek, 
Leesville, Little River, Mark's Creek, Middle Creek, ISTeuse 
River, New Light, Panther Branch, Raleigh, St. Mary's, St. 
Matthew's, Swift Creek, Wake Forest, and Wliite Oak. 



A Short History of Wake 9 

Wake County During the Revolution 

During this period the General Assembly was most active. It 
met at Kew Bern, Hillsboro, Halifax, Smithfield, and in 1781 
it met in Wake County, at the Lane homestead. The Assembly 
sat at Tarboro in 1787. The members of that Assembly con- 
ceived the idea of fixing a definite place for a State Capital. 
The next year the Assembly met in Hillsboro and agreed that 
the Capital of the State should be situated "within ten miles of 
the plantation whereon Isaac Hunter now resides, in the county 
of Wake." 

Her Contribution to the State and Nation 

Wake County has supplied more than her quota of men of 
State-wide and national importance. During the 148 years of 
her history she has furnished one President, Andrew Johnson, 
and one Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels. 

Wake has contributed to the State three Governors, eleven 
Councillors of State, five Secretaries of State, six State Treas- 
urers, one Comptroller and two Auditors, two Labor Commis- 
sioners, four Attorney-Generals, four Supreme Court Judges, 
three of whom were Chief Justices. Fifteen Congressmen were 
born in Wake and twelve of them represented the Fourth Dis- 
trict. 

Her roll of honor is as follows : 

President of the United States — Andrew Johnson, 1865-'69 ; 
Secretary of the Navy — Josephus Daniels, 1913 — . 

Three Governors— Charles Manly, 1849-'51, W. W. Holden, 
1865-'70, and Daniel G. Fowle, 1889-'91. 

Five of the fifteen Secretaries of State — Rufus H. Page, 
1859-'62, John P. H. Russ, 1862-'64, Henry J. Memminger, 
1868-'71, Wm. L. Saunders, 1879-'91, and Octavius Coke, 1891- 
'95 ; six State Treasurers — John S. Haywood, 1827, Charles L. 
Hinton, 1839-'4:2 and 1845-'52, Kemp P. Battle, 1865-'68, 



10 Wake County : Economic and Social 

Donald W. Bain, 188G-'92, Benjamin E. Lacy, 1901 to date; 
one Comptroller — Wm. J. Clark, 1851-'55, and two Auditors — 
Hal W. Ayer, 1898-1900, and Benjamin F. Dixon, Jr., 1910; 
four Attorney-Generals — Henry Seawell, 1803-'08, James F. 
Taylor, 1825-'28, Sion H. Kogers, 1863-'68, Lewis P. Olds, 
1870-'71 ; and two of the seven Commissioners of Labor and 
Printing — Wesley N. Jones, 1887-'89, Benjamin K. Lacy, 1893- 
'97, 1899-1901. 

Four Supreme Court Judges, three of them Chief Justices — 
Wm. N. H. Smith, 1879-'89, Augustus S. Merrimon, 1885-'93, 
Walter Clark, 1889 to date, and Walter A. Montgomery, 1895- 
1905; seven Superior Court Judges — Henry Seawell, 1811, 
George E. Badger, 1820-'25, Romulus M. Saunders, 1852-'67, 
Daniel G. Fowle, 1865-'67, Wm. R. Cox, 1877-'79, Walter 
Clark, 1885-'89, and Spier Whitaker, 1889-'94. 

Fifteen Congressmen have been furnished by Wake, and 
twelve of them represented the Fourth District — Josiah Crudup, 
Daniel L. Barringer, Romulus M. Saunders, Wm. H. Haywood, 
George E. Badger, Sion R. Rogers, Thomas L. Clingman, 
L. O'B. Branch, Thomas Bragg, John T. Deweese, Wm. R. Cox, 
and John Nichols ; and Andrew Johnson, Robt. N. Page, Abra- 
ham Rencher, representing another State or other districts in 
North Carolina. 

The foregoing paragraphs exhibit in brief Wake's contribu- 
tion of noteworthy men to the State and the Nation. These are 
the men preferred b^'' public choice to high public honors. It is 
impossible in this short sketch to single out and to name in 
appreciation each one of the hundreds of noble men and women 
who in the 148 years of our county history have contributed to 
the development of business, manufacture, and banking, and to 
the educational and spiritual well-being of Wake. 



Raleigh — Our Capital City 

W. H. Stephenson, Raleigh 

Kaleigh, almost the precise geographical center of the State, 
was founded in 1792. Situated in a gently rolling region on 
the edge of the Atlantic coastal plain, with an altitude of 365 
feet and a mean annual temperature of 60.3 degrees, its climatic 
conditions are ideal. There is an annual sunshine of 62 per 
cent with a mean precipitation of 49,9 inches. This is one 
reason why Kaleigh has always appealed to people seeking an 
attractive place in which to live and why the population in the 
last few years has grown to 30,000 people, suburbs included. 
The shape of Raleigh is a square covering an area of four square 
miles. It is located on five main highways — the Capital, Ocean- 
to-Ocean, Central, Quebec-to-Miami, Washington-to-Atlanta — 
and is the objective of 13 sand-clay and macadam roads leading 
to other towns. There are 65 miles of wide streets in Raleigh, 
17 of which are asphalt, and 95 per cent of which are improved. 
Fourteen miles of these improved streets are provided with mod- 
ern electric street railway. Thus the streets of Raleigh con- 
tribute largely to its municipal beauty, as do also the four pub- 
lic parks, which include Union Square on which the State Capi- 
tol stands, and the two public playgrounds fully equipped and 
under the supervision of instructors. Raleigh has a unique 
asset in its beautiful and numerous shade trees. A final source 
of beauty is found in the many elegant homes and well-kept 
lawns of the city. 

Educational, and Publishing Center 

It is as an educational and publishing center that Raleigh 
leads the other towns of the State. There are 12 public schools in 
the city and its suburbs, employing 123 teachers and with a 
school property value of $349,200. The public schools have made 



12 Wake County : Economic and Social 

considerable increase in enrollment and general standing during 
the last six years. In the high school, however, there is still room 
for improvement in curriculum and participation in inter-high 
school activities. In addition to these, there are four private 
schools in Raleigh offering varied fields of study. Here are also 
located St. Mary's School, the largest Episcopal boarding school 
for girls in the United States, Meredith College (Baptist), and 
Peace Institute (Presbyterian), all high-grade institutions of 
learning for young women. The North Carolina State College 
of Agriculture and Engineering is situated in the suburbs west 
of the city, and during 19 16-' 17 furnished instruction to 819 
students, including short course, but not including 531 summer 
school attendants. Shaw University (Baptist) and St. Augus- 
tine's School (Episcopal) are co-educational institutions for 
negroes, and are the largest of their respective denominations, 
with a combined enrollment of over 1,000. King's Business 
College, the biggest school of its kind in both Carolinas, with 
over 300 students, and the Page School of Pharmacy are also 
located in Raleigh. Thus the county-seat is doing her full share 
in the battle North Carolina is waging for education against 
illiteracy and ignorance. 

Within Raleigh's limits are published more magazines and 
newspapers than in any other town in the State. All told, there 
are 27 publications sent out from Raleigh to the people of North 
Carolina and other States. Their combined circulation in 1917 
was 332,000. Two of these are dailies, the Neivs and Observer, 
a morning paper, and the Raleigh Times, an afternoon journal. 
The Progressive Farmer, edited by Dr. Clarence Poe, is the 
foremost agricultural journal in the South and has over 200,000 
subscribers. The State Journal, edited by Mr. W. T. Bost, is a 
publication of growing importance in the field of political 
science. There are a number of religious journals published in 
Raleigh, the Biblical Recorder and the Christian Advocate 
leading; and a labor paper, The Union Herald. 



Baleigh — Our Capital City 13 

Raleigh — The Convention City of the State 

It is also as a convention city that Raleigh claims first rank 
among the leading cities of the State. There are five hotels, 
which annually accommodate 167,000 visitors. The municipally 
owned auditorium has a capacity of 5,000 people, and is one of 
the finest in the South. The Raleigh Country Club, which 
possesses an excellent eighteen-hole golf course and six tennis 
courts, extends its privileges to guests of Raleigh hotels. 

Civic Progress 

The civic progress of Raleigh has been remarkable under the 
commission form of government. The waterworks system is 
municipally owned and keeps in reserve a three-months supply. 
The fire department, employing 28 firemen, is the only com- 
pletely motorized and fully paid fire department in the State. 
The museum is recognized to be the finest State museum in the 
United States, while the Hall of History is one of the finest in 
the country. Raleigh has three public libraries with over 90,- 
000 volumes. There are two telephone systems in the city with 
3,865 city and rural subscribers; which means a gain in the 
number of phones in the last five years of 65 per cent. The 
hydro-electric power, available for lighting and street railway 
purposes, comes from three sources, under contract with the 
Carolina Power and Light Company. Rex and Mary Elizabeth 
hospitals for the whites and St. Agnes for the negroes are free 
public institutions with excellent facilities and under high-grade 
management. In the city of Raleigh there are 2,257 employees, 
drawing a combined annual salary of $1,161,000. Raleigh is 
one of the 16 cities of the United States having a municipal 
abattoir. An incinerator has been recently installed. 



14 Wahe County: Economic and Social 

Industrial Raleigh 

Industrially Raleigh has made large relative increases, but 
has not equalled her record in education and civic growth. In 
six years the postoffice receipts have increased from $112,337 to 
$204,075, a gain of almost 90 per cent. During this same 
period 47 wholesale and jobbing houses have made the remark- 
able increase in wholesale trade of 1G5 per cent. The gain in 
the assessment of real and personal property in five years has 
amounted to 36 per cent, while the total resources of the seven 
Raleigh banks is now $14,000,000, or an increase of nearly 60 
per cent in the last eight years. This industrial growth is 
encouraging, but still Raleigh has not found her proper indus- 
trial status among the other cities in the State, which, in the 
finality, depends on equitable freight rates, a goal that is being 
strenuously worked for at present by the business men of 
Raleigh. 

Manufacturing Growth in Raleigh 

The number of manufacturing establishments, according to 
the Chamber of Commerce, has grown from 49 in 1907 to 75 in 
1917, with annual products valued at $5,000,000. But when 
compared with other leading cities in the State, Raleigh ranked 
seventh in the number of establishments in 1914, with Charlotte 
leading, and sixth in the capital invested, with Winston leading. 
According to the Federal Census of Industries, the raw materials 
consumed in manufacture in Raleigh during the last ten years 
have increased from $512,000 to $1,020,000, and in value of 
output from $1,087,000 to $2,916,000. Here, again, there are 
seven towns in the State ahead of Raleigh, and Winston is 
again in the lead. This means that Raleigh has been timid in 
undertaking and prosecuting manufacturing enterprises. 



Raleigh — Our Capital City 15 

A Tradition of the Past 

She has been hampered by a tradition of "safety-first" deal- 
ing in her industrial and manufacturing enterprises, which has 
prevented the giant strides that more industrially aggressive 
towns in the State have been making. But evidences of a re- 
awakening are found in the new manufacturing concerns that 
have been recently organized in Raleigh, such as the washboard 
factory, the new hosiery mill, the packing plant, the airplane 
factory, foundry, machine shop and implement works, and other 
various mills of many kinds. What Raleigh needs is the same 
industrial courage that has been the making of Durham, Char- 
lotte, and Winston. And in this rebirth of manufacture and 
rapid growth in wholesale trade we see again indications that 
she will take her proper place in trade and manufacture. 

Her business men are improving their old standing, but they 
are not yet venturing boldly enough into new fields of business. 
What Raleigh needs is to put aside the idea that her preemi- 
nence springs from the fact that she is the State Capital or from 
her educational leadership. She must take advantage of her 
many fine opportunities and make the best of them. And when 
this is done, her place in the industrial and commercial world 
will be as safely assured as her leadership in education, publi- 
cation, and banking. 

The Present Challenge 

But the response to the challenges of a crisis is always the acid 
test of a city. Raleigh has oversubscribed her quota for the 
Red Cross support, for Liberty Loan Bonds, and has led the 
State in the number of books given to the soldiers. This is 
largely due to the valuable work that her Woman's Club and Red 
Cross are doing. An enormous quantity of surgical dressings, 
knitted goods, and the like has been sent to France. The women 
of the county have been stirred to conserve food and to plant gar- 



16 Wake County: Economic and Social 

dens, can fruit and vegetables, and do everything in their power 
to help win the war. Raleigh has been very fortunate in her 
women workers. They have done marvels. The Chamber of 
Commerce, Rotary Club, and other organizations have also aided 
materially in this work, and have backed the Government in 
every way, whether in War Savings Stamps or Liberty Loans or 
in food production and conservation. Raleigh has done well, 
and, in so doing, has won recognition throughout the Nation. 
She is awake to the critical situation that exists in the world 
today. Much can be expected of her in the near future ; for she 
has awakened to her full share of the task, and it can be said 
with truth and certainty that she will perform all her duties 
well. She is on the royal road to a greater success than ever 
before. 

(All of the important facts were obtained, January 1, 1918, 
from the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.) 



Natural Resources, Industries, and 
Opportunities 

OusBY R. Cunningham, Apex 
Geography 

Wake County is one of the largest in the State, its approxi- 
mate area being 540,800 acres. Originally the county was 
larger than it is at present, but a few years ago practically an 
entire township was taken off and added to Durham, our neigh- 
boring county. Wake lies on the border of the Piedmont region, 
and naturally it has a rolling, uneven surface, which is charac- 
teristic of the Piedmont section. 

Neuse River, which is not very large in Wake County, is our 
principal river. In addition, there are several creeks that are 
utilized to a small extent for grist and roller mills. The types 
of soil in the northern and western portions of the county are 
clay and clayey loam. The climate of the county is rather 
mild, the spring and fall months being suitable for outdoor work. 
Because of its high elevation, good drainage, and good water, 
Wake has a very healthful climate. 

A large portion of the county is divided into farms, mostly 
small ones. According to the geography of the county, our chief 
agricultural products are cotton and tobacco. Minor crops are 
the grains, hay, and forage. As another chapter treats the agri- 
cultural resources, this discussion will pass on to our timber 
resources. 

Timber Resources 

It has been estimated that 90 per cent of our county has at 

one time been cleared, but since the Civil War about 40 per cent 

has reverted to forests. In past years hardwoods and pine types 

were on a par, but in 1915 about 14 per cent of the original 

2 



18 Wake County: Economic and Social 

forest growth was woodland. At the same time 86 per cent of 
the forests of the county was second-growth pine. 

Wake has 260,000 acres of timber land, which is 50 per cent 
of the total area of the county. It is estimated that there are 
315,000,000 board feet of timber in Wake, 93 per cent of which 
is second-growth pine, 2 per cent oak, 3 per cent original long- 
leaf pine, and the remainder various original gTOwths. In the 
year 1914, 110 sawmills cut 75,000,000 board feet of timber. 
They cut upon an average 700,000 feet each, but some of them 
cut a million or more feet each during the year. Ninety-two 
per cent of the lumber cut was second-growth pine, 4 per cent 
old growth long-leaf pine, and 2 per cent oak. The stumpage 
of second-growth pine timber varies in value from $2 to $4 per 
thousand feet, while old growth long- and short-leaf pine is worth 
from $1 to $2 more per thousand feet. 

I have already pointed out that about 14 per cent of our wood- 
land is original forest growth. Of long-leaf pine about 9,000,- 
000 feet remain, but it has all been boxed and is being cut very 
fast. In addition, there are 8,000,000 feet of second-growth 
pine in the county giving an average of 1,000 feet per acre. 

In addition to the sawmills, there are 20 planing mills, hand- 
ling from a quarter million to ten million feet of timber a year. 
The transportation facilities are comparatively good, there being 
several railroads running through the county, and the highways 
are in good condition most of the time. 

After taking into consideration the status of our forest re- 
sources, we see that our supply of timber is being gradually 
exhausted. Here is the problem that confronts us today: 
How are we to conserve our timber, or what means must we take 
to insure sufficient reproduction? We must first take precau- 
tion in seeing that the seed trees are left when timber is cut. 
Second, it is essential that our forests be protected from being 
burned through carelessness. If the people of our county, espe- 
cially the people of the rural districts, will consider the impor- 



Resources, Industries, Opportunities 19 

tance of preserving seed trees, and especially protecting our 
forests from fires, tliej will help towards solving a great problem 
that becomes more complex each year. 

Industries 

Wake County has many industries, but not as many as it 
should have. These industries are classed in this discussion 
under three main heads : cotton mills, knitting mills, and other 
miscellaneous enterprises. 

COTTON" MILLS 

We have six cotton mills in Wake : one at Neuse, one at Wake 
Forest, one at Wendell, and three in Raleigh. In these six mills 
there are 63,258 spindles, 1,263 looms, 217 cards; the horse- 
power is developed by steam, electricity, and water to the amount 
of 2,800. The raw material in 1916 was 7,913,310 pounds of 
cotton, and the total value of the output was $1,837,150. The 
total number of persons employed was 1,040 ; males 617, females 
338, and children 98. The highest average daily wage of the 
men was $3.58, the lowest $1.04; that for women was corre- 
spondingly $1.92 and $.95. The State averages were $3.05, the 
highest for men, and $.97 the lowest; $1.54 the highest for 
women and $.85 the lowest. The estimated number of depend- 
ents on the employees of these mills was 2,485. The number 
of days that the mills were in operation was 308.5 days in the 
year. It is evident from the life that the operatives and em- 
ployees lead that they are fairly intelligent. For instance, the 
percentage of operatives that can both read and write is 92.44, 
while the State average is only 89 per cent. The average num- 
ber of hours constituting a day's work is 10.3, and the average 
for the one mill that is in operation both day and night is 10.5 
hours. The number of hours work for the week is 60, and the 
operatives are paid weekly. 



20 Wake County: Economic and Social 

KNITTING MILLS 

There are five knitting mills in Wake : one each at Morrisville, 
Wendell, and Zebulon, and two in Raleigh. The capital stock 
of these mills is valued at $93,675; they use 443,992 pounds 
of raw material to produce goods with an estimated value of 
$761,596 a year. The number of knitting machines reported is 
343, sewing machines 96, horsepower 74, men employed 85, 
women employed 161. The highest average daily wage paid 
men was $2.40 a day, the lowest $1 ; the highest wage paid 
women was $1.89 and the lowest $.80. Of those employed in 
these mills, 98.17 per cent can both read and write. The mills 
are in operation 308 days in the year, and the livelihood of about 
750 people depends on those employed in them. 

Wake County should have more than five knitting mills; it 
should share in supplying South America and other countries 
with knitting mill products, which are in great demand. It is 
true that the capital stock of the knitting mills in the State has 
almost doubled since 1906, but the South is still behind the 
North in number and variety of industries. 

MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIES 

The total number of miscellaneous industries in our county 
in 1916 was 55. The total capital of these enterprises was 
$891,820; the combined value of the plants $840,650. Their 
payroll was $557,690, and the total output of goods estimated 
at $2,633,795. The total number of horsepower used was 
2,590 ; number of men employed 1,090, women 90, and children 
3 (persons under 16 years of age). Ten hours constitute the 
average day's work in these industries. The means by which 
these miscellaneous enterprises are operated are as follows : 26 
by steam, 16 by electricity, 1 by steam and gasoline, 2 by steam 
and electricity, 3 by hand power, 2 by gasoline, 1 by gas and 
electricity, 1 by gas engine, and 3 unreported. 



Resources, Industries, Opportunities 21 

Of the people employed in these mills, 92 per cent can both 
read and write. The highest average daily wage paid the men 
was $3.09, the lowest $1.12; to women the highest was $1.79, 
and the lowest $.91. 

In Wake, as elsewhere in I)Torth Carolina, there is a large field 
for industries of every sort. They have been held back in the 
past because of the scarcity of capital and the timidity of our 
men of means. But the people of Wake and the State are be- 
ginning to realize, though very slowly, the opportunities that 
confront them in the field of miscellaneous industrial enterprises. 

Publications 

There are established in Wake 33 newspapers and periodicals, 
with a circulation of 340,358. The total capital stock invested 
in these publications was $149,200; the estimated value of the 
plants is $68,000; their payroll amounts to $116,690 a year. 
The number of horsepower used is 83 ; the number of persons 
employed 84; the average work day is 8.43 hours, or 50.66 
hours per week; the average highest wage is $3.20, the lowest $1. 
Raleigh is a well developed publishing center, and in this par- 
ticular it ranks well up with other cities that are many times 
larger. The best equipped single printing establishment in the 
entire South is that of the Edwards & Broughton Printing 
Company. 

Facts About Manufacturing- 

According to the 1914 census of manufactures, Raleigh shows 
the following five-year increases: total wages paid 34,1 per cent, 
new materials used 27 per cent, total value of products 22.7 
per cent, total salaries and wages 29 per cent, value added by 
manufacture 17.8 per cent, primary horsepower employed 4.1 
per cent, number of wage-earners 2.7 per cent. The census also 
shows a five-year decrease in the total number of salaried em- 
ployees and in capital invested. 



22 WaJce Cou7ity : Economic and Social 

The 1914 Federal Census of Industries summarizes manu- 
factures in nine IsTorth Carolina cities : ISTew Bern, High Point, 
Asheville, Wilmington, Greensboro, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, 
Raleigh, and Durham. In the amount of capital invested Ra- 
leigh ranked ninth, in value of total output eighth, in the number 
of establishments seventh, and in the annual payroll sixth. 
These figures justify me in saying that Raleigh is not living up 
to her opportunities and possibilities as a manufacturing com- 
munity. 

Opportunities 

Wake can rightly be called the county of opportunities. These 
opportunities are many, and doubtless some of them have been 
pointed out in other chapters, but they cannot be emphasized too 
much. 

In agriculture a great chance is open to the farmers to make 
their farms more productive each year by the use of proper 
methods of farming. We need more bread-and-meat farming 
and more livestock. Our farmers must realize that many of 
their ideas and much of their equipment are obsolete. This is 
an age that requires brain work as well as manual labor to make 
our farms more productive. On the Farmers' Union and the 
club work of the boys and girls mainly rest our hopes and 
expectations of arousing the people of the rural districts to the 
great opportunities that are before them today. 

As has been pointed out before, there is need of more mills, 
foundries, and factories in the county. Why should Wake not 
have more cotton mills, knitting mills, and other enterprises? 
We have the capital and the labor ; we need the spirit of enter- 
prise. There is a great need for a packing plant in the county ; 
in fact, the movement to establish such a plant is already under 
way. It is true that our industrial development for the past 
several years has been creditable ; but still our industrial status 
is not what it might be. The fact that a large number of people 



Resources, Industries, Opportunities 23 

in the county possessing sufficient capital to finance industries 
have been afraid to risk their money accounts for the fact that 
Wake lags behind in industrial development. This is not only 
true of Wake County, but also of most counties throughout the 
State. 

We have valuable resources in Wake County ; v^q desire to see 
our county forge ahead and prosper, yet we have numerous op- 
portunities before us unchallenged. Who will take advantage 
of them ? What are the home people of our county waiting for ? 
If we do not take advantage of our opportunities and strive to 
develop the resources of our county, how can we expect Wake 
to keep pace with the development of the State and the Nation ? 
The industrial South is developing in leaps and bounds, and it 
is our duty to keep Wake fully abreast of the most enterprising 
communities. We must bend our efforts toward making it in 
all particulars the best developed county, not only in North 
Carolina, but the South. What we need, in a word, is more ini- 
tiative. 



Wealth and Taxation in Wake County 

Raymond C. Maxwell, Raleigh 
Pkopeety Wealth and Increase 

In 1913 the taxable property of Wake amounted to $27,211,- 
050. Only two counties had a larger total of properties on the 
tax list. It still holds this rank, but in 1916 our taxables had 
increased to $31,648,704. Here is an increase of $4,443,654 
in three years, or a gain of one and a half million dollars for each 
year. Only two other counties in the State have more property 
than Wake on the tax books — Mecklenburg with $36,091,920 
and Guilford with $33,629,469. 

Our increase in taxable property from 1903 to 1913 was 64 
per cent, or a little less than that of the State at large, which 
was 81 per cent. The increase in taxable properties listed by 
negroes was 97 per cent; the increase in taxables owned by 
whites was 31 per cent. These figures are not unusual where 
negroes are thinly scattered among white majorities. In Wake, 
as elsewhere, the property of the negroes is relatively small. It 
was $1,739,000 in 1916, and his taxes amounted to only one 
dollar of every twelve dollars paid into the county treasury. 

County Wealth, Total and Pek Capita 

Although Wake is not thought of as a strictly agricultural 
county, still in 1910 it ranked fourth in the State in total farm 
wealth, the census total being $11,982,984. This is not bad, 
considering that Wake is sixth in size with only one-third of its 
half million acres of land under cultivation. But Wake fell 
behind the average for the State in the increase of farm values 
during the last census period. The ratio of gain being 118 per 
cent and 130 per cent respectively. Fifty-three counties made a 



Wealth and Taxation 25 

better showing. This fact grows out of our farm tenancy sys- 
tem. Our excellent rural schools alone saved our county prop- 
erties from disaster. 

The same tenancy system explains our small per capita wealth 
in farm properties — lands, buildings, farm animals, tools and 
utensils. In 1910 it was only $272, against $322 for the State, 
$560 for Alleghany, $830 in Oklahoma, and $994 in the United 
States. Forty-nine counties made a better showing in this par- 
ticular. It wounds our pride to think that the average farmer 
of the United States is worth three times more than the average 
farmer in Wake. Iowa has reached the high-water mark in 
$3,386 as an average for a State. 

Not only is the per capita county wealth in farm properties 
small, but so, also, is our per capita taxable wealth in all prop- 
erties. In 1910 it was only $436 for the whites and $44 for the 
negroes. It is evident that improvement can be made in farm 
wealth and in all other properties in Wake. The average farmer 
in Iowa is worth more than nine times the average farmer in 
Il^orth Carolina, and the average taxpayer in general nearly 
nine times the average taxpayer in Wake. When Wake raises 
cotton and tobacco on a home-made bread-and-meat basis we shall 
be ten times richer than the Iowa people in less than any ten 
years. 

Farm Tenancy and Farm Mortgages 

In 1910, 54 per cent of our farms were cultivated by tenants, 
and nearly a fifth of the farms cultivated by white owners were 
mortgaged. Seventy-two counties made a better showing in 
farm ownership and 55 in freedom from mortgage debts by 
white farm owners. It requires a good deal of optimism to 
expect five-sixths of our farmers to own the farms they cultivate ; 
nevertheless this is the ratio of farm ownership in seven ol 
our counties, among them Alleghany, the richest county in per 
capita farm wealth in the State. The simple truth is that we 



26 Wahe County: Economic and Social 

need more home-owning farmers in Wake and fewer tenants. 
Ownership farming, not tenancy farming, is the way up and out 
in Wake, for the farmer, the community, and the county. It 
is a sign of achievement. The farmer does not get very far 
continually using something that belongs to somebody else. 
The tenant is a valuable asset to the community if he has the 
industry, thrift, and enterprise to rise out of tenancy to owner- 
ship, but if he is content to dig a bare living out of rented soil, 
and spend the net profits in reckless living, instead of saving 
the surplus money to go back into land of his own, then he be- 
comes a liability instead of a community asset. The tendency 
in Wake should be in the direction of increasing farm ownership 
and decreasing tenancy. 

Mortgage Debt 

Mortgage debt on farm properties is not in itself bad, pro- 
vided it represents money borrowed for more land, better farm 
buildings, better livestock, and better labor-saving machinery. 
The richest farm State in the Union carries the heaviest mort- 
gage debt on farm properties, but the mortgage debt represents 
expansion and development, not bread and meat, hay, forage, and 
fertilizers during the chopping season. This is the kind of debt 
that cripples the tobacco belt. 

In Wake 55 per cent of every hundred white farmers own 
the farms they cultivate, and 19 per cent — or nearly a fifth of 
them — in 1910 were weighed down by mortgage debt; only 27 
of every 100 negro farmers were farm owners, and nearly a 
third, or 32 per cent, of them were hobbled by mortgages on their 
land. Wake County ranks fifty-sixth in w^hite farm mortgage 
indebtedness and thirtieth in negro farm mortgage debt. Nine- 
teen per cent of the white farms in this county are mortgaged, 
and 32 per cent of the negro farms. The State average for the 
white farm owners is 17 per cent and for the negro owners 26 
per cent. It thus appears that Wake again falls below the State 
average. 



Wealth and Taxation 27 

Bank Wealth and Resources 

AVake County has several of the strongest banks in the State, 
and the total bank resources in 1915 were more than ten million 
dollars. It was fifth in per capita bank resources in 1915, the 
average per inhabitant being $153. This far exceeds the State 
average, which was only $62. 

In per capita bank capital in 1915 Wake stood high above the 
State average. Only five counties made a better showing. The 
average for Wake was $15, for the State it was $8.50, and for 
the United States $26.50. 

In per capita bank loans and discounts Wake stood fifth in 
1915, our average being $99.30, while the State average was 
only $45. The total bank loans and discounts in that year 
amounted to $6,758,342. 

FACTS ABOUT WEALTH AND TAXATION IN WAKE 

4th in total farm wealth, 1910 Census I 11,982,984.00 

54th in wealth increase, 1900-1910, per cent 118 

State increase, 130 per cent. 
20th in increase in value of domestic animals, 1900-1910, 

per cent 132 

State increase, 109 per cent; Robeson County, 208 
per cent. 

3d in total taxable property in 1913 $ 27,211,050.00 

Increase in taxable property, 1903-1913, was 64 per 
cent. State increase, 81 per cent — whites, 31 per 
cent; negroes, 97 per cent. The total taxable 
property in Wake County in 1916 was $31,648,704. 

50th in per capita country wealth 272 

Alleghany, $560; State, $322; United States, $994; 

Iowa, $3,386. 
Per capita taxable wealth: All property in Wake in 
1910 was $347— whites, $436; negroes, $44. Three 
years later per capita wealth of negro increases 
to $58. 
69th in negro farm owners; per cent of all negro farms. . 27 

State average of negro farm owners, 33 per cent. 
Negro farm owners in Wake number 577; white 
farm owners in Wake are 55 per cent of white 
farmers; in North Carolina, 66 per cent. 



28 WdTce County: Economic and Social 

31st in tax rate, State and county, on the $100 in 1913.. 89% 

Sixty-nine counties had a higher rate. Yancey 

County had the highest rate, $1.68%. 
There is abundant room for general progress and 
improvement in the tax rate in Wake. The State 
and county levy in 1916 was only $1.00%, and 38 
counties were carrying a heavier tax burden. 
38th In tax value of farm land compared with census 

value, per cent 45 

4th in professional taxes paid in 1916 $955.00 

There were 191 doctors, dentists, lawyers, photog- 
raphers, architects, etc., in Wake. 

5th in State income taxes paid, 1916 $5,328.00 

Only Mecklenburg, Guilford, New Hanover, and 
Forsyth paid more; 26 counties paid nothing. 

56th in white farm mortgages, per cent 19 

State average for whites is 17 per cent. 

30th in negro farm mortgages, per cent 32 

State average for negroes, 26 per cent. 
For both races, 18 per cent in North Carolina. 
11th in improved roads in 1913. There are 800 miles of 
sand-clay and macadam roads in the county, with 
thirteen of the roads leading out of Raleigh. 
Here good roads are important because, within a 
radius of 100 miles of Raleigh, there are 1,791,908 
inhabitants with over seventy-five brisk, busy 
towns. 

6th in per capita bank capital in 1915 $15.38 

State average, $8.51; U. S., $21.46. 

Total bank capital $1,031,000.00 

5th in per capita bank loans and discounts in 1915 $99.30 

State average, $45. Total bank loans and dis- 
counts, $6,758,342. 

5th in per capita bank resources in 1915 $153.20 

State average per capita, $62.65. Total bank re- 
sources, $10,389,992. 



Farm Conditions, Farm Practices, and the 
Local Market Problem 

T. P. Harrison, Jr., West Raleigh 
LoCATIOIf 

Wake is one of our 41 cotton-belt counties, which is a most 
favorable circumstance for her farmers ; for those living in this 
belt are blest with soils and seasons that can be made to yield 
under intelligent methods not only cotton in superabundance, 
but every food and feed crop necessary to our well-being. Our 
climate is an ideal one for farming. We have short, mild win- 
ters, a long growing season, and an abundant, well distributed 
rainfall. Wake is preeminently adapted to successful farming. 

Let us see what specific conditions place our county among 
the most desirable farm areas, not only in this State, but in the 
United States, market facilities considered. Wake is situated 
in the east-central portion of the State. Kaleigh, the State Cap- 
ital, is located in the center of the county. Three extensive rail- 
way systems — the Southern, the Seaboard, and the l^orfolk 
Southern — traverse every nook and corner of the county, thus 
affording farmers a ready means of placing their produce on the 
market. 

Soil and Climate 

Wake is situated on a corner of the Piedmont plateau that 
projects into the tide-water country. It is bisected by nu- 
merous streams flowing into Neuse River, which traverses the 
county. For this reason the land is rolling and possesses an 
excellent system of natural drainage. The county comprises 
540,800 acres, of which approximately 50 per cent is wooded 
and only 35 per cent under cultivation. This leaves 350,000 
acres of idle land in pine woods and broomsedge fields ; in other 



30 Wake County: Economic and Social 

words, practically two-thirds of the total area is uncultivated. 
Reserving 50,000 acres for wood-lot uses and allotting 75 acres 
to each family, there is room in Wake for about 4,000 new farm 
families. Valuing each acre at a minimum of $20, we have 
$7,000,000 of dead capital tied up in the idle land of Wake. 
Consider, also, how greatly the value of this land would increase 
under proper cultivation. 

According to a Federal survey, the soil of Wake is of three 
types : Cecil sandy loam, Durham coarse sandy loam, and Cecil 
coarse sandy loam. While cotton and tobacco grow well in 
Wake, the report lays great stress upon the adaptability of our 
soils to all truck crops and the grains, as well as upon the main 
forage crops. Our lowlands and high lands are both admirably 
adapted to corn. Sweet and Irish potatoes demand nothing 
better than a sandy loam. For fruit growing and for trucking. 
Wake is wonderfully fit. 

The 1910 Census figures show that the crop-producing power 
of Wake exceeds that of the richest farm counties of Illinois and 
Iowa, which are the richest farm States in the Union. The 
average crop yield per acre in the United States, according to the 
last census report, was $16.31 ; for Wake County it was $21.34. 
This is an increase of $5.03 over the Nation at large. This is 
certainly a rank of which we should be proud, so proud that we 
should got busy and produce per acre yields that will put Wake 
above any county in the United States. We can do it. Why 
shouldn't we? The crop yield of Los Angeles County, Cali- 
fornia, one of the eight banner counties in agriculture in 1910, 
was only $35 per acre. Wake can easily go ahead of this aver- 
age even in ordinary years. 

So far as climatic conditions are concerned, we are certainly 
to be envied. According to an official bulletin, the climate of 
Wake is mild and well suited to the growing of a great variety 
of crops. The first frost comes about ITovember 3d; the last 
about April 4th. This permits a growing season of 213 days, 
while in north Wisconsin and North Dakota it ranges from 80 



Farm Conditions, Practices, and Local Markets 31 

to 110 days. Thus abundant time is allowed for the planting, 
maturing, and harvesting of all our crops. Our rainfall is ample 
and well distributed throughout the year. The spring and fall 
months are ideal farm months. We can readily see, then, that 
farm conditions in Wake are highly favorable to successful 
farming. In so far as actual conditions of soils and seasons are 
concerned, Wake could stand among the leaders of the I^ation in 
the production of annual crop wealth. Neither Wake nor any 
other county in North Carolina has yet cashed in the values of 
climate alone. 

Farm Methods and Pkactices 

Now, it is well that we examine into the methods and prac- 
tices of our farmers to discover whether or not they are utilizing 
their opportunities to best advantage. Are they carrying for- 
ward the chief industry of Wake in such a way as to contribute 
to the best interests of the county ? In what particulars do we 
fall short and wherein are our methods and practices injur- 
ing us ? 

The 1910 Census shows that seven-tenths of the total crop 
wealth of Wake was produced by cotton and tobacco alone. A 
comparison of figures indicates that for many years increasing 
attention was paid to these two crops and decreasing attention to 
food and forage crops. Referring to the conditions existing in 
Wake in 1860, we can see by the table at the end of this article 
that our total wheat yield decreased 80 per cent in fifty years, 
and our corn crop 56 per cent. Other crops decreased in sim- 
ilar ratios. Glancing down the page, we find that during this 
half century our cotton crop increased 400 per cent, and our 
tobacco crop practically 1,320 per cent. Our record for live- 
stock is also alarming. During these fifty years our hog-raising 
industry decreased 87 per cent, our cattle 67 per cent, and our 
sheep 95 per cent. Between the years 1900 and 1910 our corn 
crop decreased considerably, our oat crop was 37 per cent 
smaller, and our wheat crop 50 per cent smaller. Since 1910, 



32 Wake County: Economic and Social 

Wake has been raising less cotton and more food and feed crops. 
In 1910 only one-third of our total crop values were produced 
by food crops. In the census year we imported into Wake 
County four and a quarter million pounds of meat, two and a 
half million pounds of butter, nearly two million fowls, three- 
quarter million dozens of eggs, and one and a quarter million 
bushels of corn. These statistics clearly indicate that up to 
1910 Wake was headed in the wrong direction. More and more 
we were inclined to neglect food crops, and to give more and 
more attention to cotton and tobacco as ready-cash crops. Con- 
sequently, instead of raising our bread and meat, we were forced 
to send a vast amount of money out of the county to pay for farm 
and pantry supplies we failed to raise at home. According to 
an authentic statement, we sent out of the county for this pur- 
pose in 1910 four million dollars to pay for imported food and 
feed supplies alone. The same exhibit shows that our annual 
food and feed amounted to six million dollars, and that we pro- 
duced at home a little less than two million dollars worth of 
breadstuffs. In that year, as for many long, long years, our 
cotton and tobacco money barely paid our bill for imported bread 
and meat. Our agriculture was ill-balanced and unsafe, and 
we failed to realize the extent to which this state of affairs was 
retarding agriculture, hindering industrial development, reduc- 
ing accumulated farm wealth to a minimum, and crippling both 
banking and trade in Wake County. 

In the census year the per capita rural wealth of Wake County 
was only $272, as against $322 in North Carolina, $560 in 
Alleghany County, and $944 in the United States. This places 
Wake as forty-ninth in per capita country wealth among the 
counties of the State. Alleghany County, which produces no 
cotton and no tobacco, ranks first in per capita rural wealth in 
N"orth Carolina, while Wake with far greater advantages ranks 
only forty-ninth. 



Farm Conditions, Practices, and Local Markets 33 

How It Is Affecting the County 

These, in brief, are the direct results of the farm system and 
methods forced upon our farmers by the calamities of the Civil 
War. And not until 1910 did either Wake County or the State 
at large begin to balance up agriculture with more food crops, 
better rotations, more and better livestock. 

The time has come when we must stop buying farm supplies 
with cotton and tobacco money; and since the census year we 
have undoubtedly made great changes in our farm systems. But 
for long years we have been forced to buy bread and meat, grain, 
hay, and forage, not because we cannot produce them, but sim- 
ply because we did not raise enough of them to fill our own barns, 
bins, and pantries. We bought supplies shipped in over long 
distances, we paid exorbitant transportation charges, and enor- 
mous sums went to a swarming multitude of middlemen. The 
penalties of this system fell upon the farmers, but even more 
upon the town and city dwellers of the county. 

The High Cost of Living in Raleigh 

The fact that four million dollars left the county in 1910 to 
pay for imported food and feed largely accounts for the high 
cost of living in Raleigh. According to a Government report, 
Raleigh is one of the six most expensive cities in the United 
States to live in. Most of us realize what the high cost of living 
means to industry in a city like Raleigh, It implies the greatest 
hindrance to industrial development and success that could 
possibly be presented. A high cost of living calls for high 
wages. High wages mean a greater labor cost in factory pro- 
duction, and under such conditions manufacturers cannot com- 
pete with any degree of success with other concerns located in 
areas where the labor cost of production is lower. When labor 
costs are high, profits dwindle or disappear. 
3 



34 Wake County: Economic and Social 

In order that the high cost of living in a citj may be reduced 
to a minimum, it is of primary importance that this city should 
become the center of a well developed food producing region. 
In normal times nearly half of a thousand-dollar income goes 
to pay for family food alone ; at present nearly two-thirds of it. 
Therefore, the price of food must be kept at the lowest possible 
level. It cannot be reduced so long as consumers must pay 
enormous overhead charges for transportation and distribution. 

Raleigh, as we have seen, is by no means the center of a well 
developed food producing area. If the cost of living is to be 
kept on reasonable levels, producers and consumers must be kept 
close together. The city in America with the safest basis for 
assured growth and prosperity is invariably the center of an 
abundant food-producing region. And a county or community 
that cannot or will not feed itself cannot expect to prosper. 
Wake not only can feed herself, but she is capable of becoming 
one of the leading food-producing counties in the State. When 
the farmers of Wake raise cotton and tobacco on a bread-and- 
meat basis, they will keep at home the four million dollars a 
year that goes into the pockets of the Middle Western farmers, or 
a reasonable portion of this King's ransom. When this is done, 
our farm wealth will easily be doubled within five years. 

The Crop-Lien System, A Hindrance 

Farm tenancy under the crop-lien system is largely responsi- 
ble for the meager wealth of our farm population and the high 
cost of living in Raleigh. In 1910 more than half of the farms 
in Wake County were cultivated by tenants. Three-fifths, or 
1,922, of these tenants were croppers, and 1,357 were cash, or 
standing rent tenants. These farmers are obliged to go into 
debt to the supply merchants in order to keep soul and body to- 
gether during the growing season. This situation is the eco- 
nomic result of our crop-lien system, under which it is useless to 



Farm Conditions, Practices, and Local Markets 35 

hope that our farmers will plant more food crops and less of the 
money crops. The crop-lien system calls for a money crop, one 
that can be turned into instant, ready cash. What more natural 
than that cotton and tobacco should be planted, both being crops 
that can be turned quickly into money ? Indeed, he is forced, 
in the very nature of things, to raise cotton and tobacco and 
neglect food and feed crops. The disastrous one-crop, farm- 
tenancy, crop-lien, supply-merchant system can be broken down 
by the bankers of a community, and by the bankers alone. The 
methods of the Texas bankers will be discussed later on. 

The Lack of Adequate Maeket Facilities 

Another factor that forces Wake farmers to neglect food crops 
and to plant the money crops is the lack of conveniences and 
facilities in Raleigh for marketing home-raised bread-and-meat 
products. "When the farmer plants cotton and tobacco he real- 
izes that the whole world is an organized market for them. He 
does not have to seek the market, the market seeks him. They 
are an acceptable credit collateral even before they are planted. 
They can be turned into instant cash the minute he gets into 
town. Not so with the food products, for Raleigh is inade- 
quately equipped with modern marketing facilities. Or, what 
is more nearly true, the housewives of Raleigh do not have the 
marketing habits of the housewives in Baltimore and New Or- 
leans. When a farmer brings his produce to Raleigh he is forced 
either to peddle it from door to door, or to stand idle in the 
market place waiting for customers. This state of affairs is bad 
for the producers and the consumers in Wake County. Since 
we have erected a county courthouse costing more than all the 
public school property in the county, certainly we should be 
equally eager to provide the various facilities necessary for the 
marketing of home-produced food products. Our city market is 
beginning to serve the purpose for which it was erected, but until 



36 Wake County: Economic and Social 

the consumer is brouglit to buy his food personally, until the 
merchants will accept corn and other food crops as collateral for 
loans, until the banks force the merchants to do this, and until 
the farmers themselves raise more of the food and feed crops, our 
marketing facilities will be inadequate and Wake will continue 
to send money out of the county annually to buy what she can 
so easily raise at home. The rest-room for women in the county 
courthouse is a forward step in this matter, and is being well 
used by the farmers' wives and daughters. A fuller discussion 
of this matter is given in the chapter on ''Our Problems and 
Their Solution." 

When we consider what this backwardness implies, what pen- 
alties we are paying, should we not be planning and scheming 
to discover the means for remedying these conditions ? With- 
out the best marketing facilities by which our farmers may 
quickly and successfully dispose of their products, we cannot 
hope that they will respond. We must make them see the ad- 
vantages in raising food crops before they will begin to cooperate 
in any measure in solving this problem. That Wake County is 
capable of raising its own food no one acquainted with the facts 
can deny. With our crop yield per acre averaging $5.03 above 
that of the United States, we could raise our own food in super- 
abundance. Our Corn Club boys have demonstrated our corn- 
raising capabilities. In 1914, Y2 corn-club boys averaged 49 1/5 
bushels of corn to the acre at a cost of only 40 cents per bushel. 
At this rate, our adult farmers could produce on the corn acre- 
age of the county 2,500,000 bushels, or enough for home con- 
sumption and a half million bushels over to sell abroad. 

How We Can Remedy the Situation 

After carefully considering our status in food production and 
the facts underlying the truth that Wake is a poor county in per 
capita country wealth, let us look at the ways out. In the first 



Farm Conditions, Practices, and Local Markets 37 

place, we must solve the problem of local markets for home- 
raised food and feed products. Consumers and producers must 
be brought together, farmers must get more for their products 
and consumers more for their money. This double result means 
the elimination of useless middlemen. 

The banks can help immensely. If they establish credit ac- 
commodations, big scale marketing will be facilitated. Texas 
has set an enviable pace in this direction. Her banks now 
refuse loans to supply merchants doing a crop-lien business pro- 
tected by cotton acreage alone. They require that a certain 
part of the acreage be put in food crops, thus forcing every 
farmer to raise a sufficiency of bread and meat. The supply 
merchant can discount no other kind of a crop-lien at the bank. 
Thus the bankers force the supply merchants to force the farmers 
to raise cotton on a bread-and-meat basis. As a result, they are 
keeping at home the $217,000,000 that in the past has been 
leaving the State to pay for imported food supplies. Moreover, 
the Texas boards of trade are maintaining free telephone market 
information exchanges. Impartially operated, they are proving 
an immense advantage in informing farmers as to market condi- 
tions and demands, and customers about the farmers with 
products to sell. 

Our banks, our Merchants' Association, our Chamber of Com- 
merce, and our Rotary Club in Raleigh must all pull together 
to solve these problems. And when we have our work well 
under way it will mean that our home-made money will be kept 
at home, and a vast enhancement of rural wealth and city trade, 
manufacture, and banking will follow. It was a four-million- 
dollar proposition in 1910 ; and unless we are now raising more 
food and feed products than we were at that time, it is some- 
thing like a ten-million-dollar proposition today. 



38 Wahe County: Economic and Social 

Facts About Farm Conditions in 1910 

The figures on the left indicate rank; that is, thej show how 
many counties made a better showing. 

38th in land under cultivation. Per cent of total area 35.5 

State average, 29 per cent. 

Land under cultivation, 191,864 acres. Idle acres, 348,936, 
or tviro-thirds of total area. 

2d in number of farms 6,137 

Average cultivated acres per farm, 31.3. Size of cultivated 
farms larger in 58 counties. About one-third are less 
than 50 acres in size, both cultivated and uncultivated 
land considered. 

16th in poultry increase, 1900-1910. Per cent 33.3 

97,930 fowls of all kinds in county in 1910. Rank in num- 
ber of fowls on hand, 5th. 

43d in cattle per thousand acres 24 

State average, 23; U. S., 61. 

14th in cattle increase, 1900-1910. Per cent 31 

Caldwell increase, 62 per cent; State average increase, 12 
per cent. 

44th in hogs per 1,000 acres 33 

State average, 39; U. S., 66; Iowa, 263. 

53d in swine decrease, 1900-1910. Per cent 11 

69 counties decreased; only 28 increased. 

67th in sheep losses, 1900-1910. Per cent 62 

Total number lost, 785; worth $2,826. Wake ought to en- 
force her dog license tax. The revenue from this source 
for schools in 1916 was only $452; in Halifax it was 
$3,323. 

73d in farm tenancy, per cent 54.3 

State average, 42.3 per cent. Ten-year increase in Wake, 
1.1 per cent. Forty-seven counties decreased in farm ten- 
ancy. White tenants in Wake, 1,757; negro tenants, 1,576. 
The landless, homeless, white tenants and their families 
number nearly 9,000 souls. Three-fifths of all tenants are 
croppers, 1,922 in number. 1,357 are cash, or standing 
rent tenants. 



Farm Conditions, Practices, and Local Markets 39 

Facts About Faem Practices 

9tli in cotton production; total crop, 1914, bales 29,253 

Robeson first with 74,168 bales. Five-year increase, 
6.5 per cent. Fifty-seven counties increased at a 
greater rate; eight counties decreased in cotton 
production. Cotton production per acre in Wake 
in 1910 was 282.1 lbs.; rank, 15th. State average, 
261 lbs. 

12th in tobacco production in 1910; pounds 4,478,073 

For 1900 it was 3,143,390 pounds. 

86th in non-food crops produced — cotton, tobacco, etc $ 2,832,626.00 

Cotton and tobacco, per cent of total crop wealth, 
69 per cent of total farm wealth produced; non- 
food crops, 31 per cent. 

2d in annual farm wealth produced % 4,818,607.00 

This total covers both crops and animal products. 
Every two and one-third years the farmers produce 
more wealth than they have been able to accumu- 
late in 140 years. 

19th in crop-yielding power per acre $21.34 

State average, $20.18 in 1914. Compares well with 
Missouri, $13.96; Minnesota, $13.19; North Dakota, 
$11.10; South Dakota, $10.79 in 1910. 

18th in production of annual farm wealth per person $109.50 

State average, $85. Average of French farmers, $126. 

85th in food and feed production per person $31.00 

Needed, $84 per person; deficit, $53 per person. 
Total deficit, $3,987,000. 
86th in food and feed crops; per cent of total crop value. . . 31 

Alleghany, 89 per cent; State average, 47; Wake 
ranks 50th here. 

Facts About Food and Feed Production 

4th in corn production; total crop, bushels 686,991 

Robeson first with 1,142,060. 

86th in corn produced per person; bushels 11 

Needed per person, 31 bu. ; deficit of 20 bu. Total 
deficit, 1,273,108 bu. State average, 15 bu. per 
person in 1910. 

54th in wheat production per person; bushels .4 

Needed, 4 bu. per person; deficit per person, 3.6 bu. 
Total deficit, 227,539 bushels. Only 15 counties 
in 1910 raised wheat surpluses. Loss in wheat 
production, 1900-1910, was 49 per cent. 



40 Wake County: Economic and Social 

24th in oat production; total crop, bushels 39,809 

The loss in oat production, 1900-1910, was 19 per cent. 

15th in hay and forage production; total crop, tons 6,060 

Ten-year increase, 1900-1910, was 48 per cent. 

72d in beef production per person; pounds 16 

State average, 33.8 pounds. 

85th in pork production per person; pounds 52 

State average, 93 pounds. 

72d in poultry production per person; fowls 5 

Needed, 13 fowls per person per year; deficit, 8 fowls 
per person. Total deficit, 505,000. 

97th in egg deficit; dozen 672,700 

Needed, 17 1/^ doz. per person; produced, 7 doz.; de- 
ficit, 101/2 doz. 
86th in increase in farm sales of dairy product; per cent. . 24 

Total sales in 1910 were $83,634. State increase was 
146 per cent. "Wake produced 11.7 lbs. butter per 
person. The average amount needed was 48 lbs. 

39th in live-stock products per person $17.00 

Alleghany, $65; State average, $17. Per capita crop 
production in Wake was $31. Total farm wealth 
produced, $48 per person. 

97th in bill for imported food and feed supplies $ 3,987,000.00 

In three years it equals the farm wealth accumulated 
in 140 years. 

1st in Boys' Corn Club enrollment in 1914; boys 352 

Average per acre yield, 49.2 bushels, or nearly four 
times the average for the country. At this rate 
the grown-ups might have produced corn enough 
for home consumption and a half-million bushels 
over to sell. Instead they bought 1,273,108 bushels. 

15th in Girls' Canning Club enrollment, 1914 20 

Tins and glass jars filled, 7,120; rank, 13th. Clear 
profits, $657.80; rank, 13th. 

Farm Crops in Wake in 1860 and 1910 

1860. Hogs 46,710 or nearly 2 per inhabitant 

1910. 16,952 or nearly 14 per inhabitant 

Per capita decrease, 87 per cent 
1860. Wheat 79,293 bu. or nearly 3 bu. per inhabitant 

1910. 25,377 bu. or nearly %bu. per inhabitant 

Per capita decrease, 87 per cent 
1860. Corn 725,843 bu. or 25.4 bu. per inhabitant 

1910, 686,991 bu. or 11 bu. per inhabitant 

Per capita decrease, 56 per cent 





Farm Conditions, Practices, and Local Markets 


1860. 


Oats 


48,391 


bu. or nearly 9 bu. per work 


animal 


1910. 




39,809 


bu. or nearly 4% bu. per work 
Per capital decrease, 


animal 
50 per 


1860. 


Cotton 


5,889 


bales (500 lbs.) 




1910. 




29,367 


bales 

Total increase, 


400 per 


1860. 


Tobacco 


314,755 


lbs. 




1910. 




4,478,073 


lbs. 

Total increase, 


1,320 per 


1860. 


Potatoes 


244,066 


bu. or 8y2 bu. per inhabitant 




1910. 




251,394 


bu. or 4 bu. per inhabitant 
Per capita decrease. 


51 per 


1860. 


Hay 


7,782 


tons or 1.4 per work animal 




1910. 




5,575 


tons or .61 per work animal 
Per capita decrease. 


56 per 


1860. 


Cattle 


16,777 


or .59 per inhabitant 




1910. 




12,405 


or .19 per inhabitant 

Per capita decrease. 


67 per 


1860. 


Sheep 


10,738 






1910. 




476 







41 



cent 



cent 



cent 



cent 



cent 



cent 



Total decrease, 95 per cent 



Seven- Year Gains in Wake County 
Rural Schools 

OusBY R. Cunningham, Apex 

Since the memorable educational awakening in Wake County 
during the Aycock administration, a great deal of interest has 
been centered in the rural schools. The people of the county 
have realized the needs of the rural districts, and by their will- 
ingness to be taxed, and by other sacrifices of its citizens, the 
county has made wonderful strides in the development of its 
educational system. There are no better country schools in the 
State or the entire South. 

1. Consolidation of Schools 

In 1908-'09 the white school property was valued at $126,567 ; 
seven years later the value was $306,671, or an increase of 142 
per cent. There were 88 rural white schools in Wake in 1908- 
'09, and 76 in 1915-'16, a decrease of 14 per cent. The reason 
for the decrease in number of white schools during this period 
lies in consolidation of many of the small schools, a policy which 
has been advantageous to the county. The people have begun 
to realize the great advantages which result from consolidation, 
namely, the graded system, better attention to the training of 
little children, longer class periods, and longer terms. There 
were 34 country schools in 1908-'09 with two or more teachers ; 
seven years later the number was the same. In 1908-'09 all 
but five of the schools were equipped with patent desks; in 
1915-'16 only one school had old-fashioned home-made desks. 
These facts indicate that Wake County has taken a wise step in 
developing consolidated rural schools. Thus, more of our coun- 
try children are in school, the numbers enrolled moving up from 
76 to 81 per cent. But, also, they attend better, the average 



Seven-Year Gains in Rural Schools 43 

daily attendance moving up from 57 to 63 per cent. Every 
scliool man knows that these are tremendous gains in a seven- 
year period. These increases would not have been possible with- 
out the school supervisors of the county. Wake leads the State 
in this modern movement, and she will be in disgrace if she loses 
her primacy in this particular. 

2. Increasing Liberality 

The table that follows shows that during this interval our 
total expenditures on country schools was more than doubled, 
the increase being 150 per cent; that the amount spent for teach- 
ing and supervision was nearly trebled, the increase being 189 
per cent; that the average annual salary of the rural white 
teacher was more than doubled, the increase being 124 per cent. 
On the other hand, the expenses of administration show an 
increase of only 80 per cent. 

Wake County leads the State in the total amount invested in 
country school property. In 1915-'16 the value of such prop- 
erties was $306,671, which was nearly two and a half times the 
total value of 1908-'09. 'No other county in this or any other 
State can show such gains in a seven-year period. 

3. Teachers' Salaries 

The number of rural white teachers has grown from 136 to 
199, an increase of 46 per cent. Likewise, there has been a 
noticeable gain in the average annual salary of rural white 
teachers. The increase in seven years was from $153.59 to 
$344, a gain of 124 per cent. But still the teachers of our 
county, like those of every other in the State, are very poorly 
paid today, the high cost of living considered. The figures of 
the Washington authorities show that the teacher's dollar will 
buy less than haK as much as it would in 1914. Meantime, the 
quality of our country school teaching corps has immensely im- 



44 Wake County: Economic and Social 

proved. In 1908, 36 of them held college diplomas; seven 
years later the number had increased to 68, a gain of 29 per 
cent. Thus we see that our teachers are giving more time and 
money preparing to render better service in the schools. The 
people of Wake need to realize that their country school teachers 
must have a living wage. If it cannot be so, our splendid sys- 
tem will promptly fall to pieces, and the children of the county 
will pay the penalty. 

4. Small School Population and Lakge Attendance 

The total school population in 1908-'09 was 13,212, and in 
1915-'16 it was 15,315, an increase of 16 per cent. Total en- 
rollment increased from 10,131 to 12,522, a gain of 24 per cent. 
But best of all, our average daily attendance increased from 
5,826 to 7,890, a gain of 35 per cent. These are marvelous 
gains, considering the fact that more than half, or 54 per cent, 
of our country people are tenant farmers who move from place 
to place year by year and thus gradually lose their interest in 
schools. So it usually is in counties afflicted by the tenant-farm 
system. But not in Wake; which means that our excellent 
country schools are a bulwark of defense for farm landowners. 
They have helped to keep a desirable class of tenants in the 
county. 

The foregoing statements are based on the tables at the end 
of this discussion. They illustrate the progress that Wake 
County has made in education during the last seven years. 
Today we have four excellent county high schools, namely, at 
Cary, Wakelon, Holly Springs, and Bay Leaf. Two of these 
high schools, Wakelon and Cary, have farm-life departments. 
The total property of these four county high schools is valued at 
$110,000. In addition to these county high schools, there are 
23 other schools in which some high school instruction is given. 
Of these, the principal ones are the Apex Graded School and the 
Wendell Graded School, both of which prepare students for 
college. 



Seven-Year Gains in Rural Schools 45 

In the educational development of our county much credit is 
due the women, who have organized themselves into what is 
known as the Woman's Betterment Association. Since the be- 
ginning of this organization, in addition to giving other aid to 
the cause of education, the association has raised large sums of 
money in various ways, which has been spent in establishing 
libraries, domestic science courses, beautifying school grounds, 
and in various other helpful ways. The modesty of these inter- 
ested women has prevented them from getting credit for many 
things that they have accomplished. 

Great credit for our successful educational development is 
due our former County Superintendent of Schools, Prof. Z. V. 
Judd, and to the former Chairman of the Board of Education, 
Mr. L. J, Sears. These men with untiring efforts piloted our 
educational system through its early struggle with ignorance 
and placed the country schools on a firm basis. Our present 
County Superintendent, Dr. E. W. Knight, and Mr. E. B. 
Crow, the Chairman of the Board of Education, are continuing 
the fight against ignorance and illiteracy in Wake with the same 
enthusiasm and vigor with which the educational movement 
began. 

Wake's County Commencement is an important event, and 
everybody takes an interest in it because the people appreciate 
its significance and value. But despite our growth in the past, 
we still have room for improvement in our schools. Since our 
country is at war, it will be necessary for us to make greater 
sacrifices than we have made heretofore to keep our schools on 
the highest possible level. But we must "keep the lights of 
learning burning," because after the war trained minds will be 
needed to solve the great problems that will confront not only 
America, but the world. With the cooperation of every citizen, 
Wake County's educational system will continue to grow, be- 
cause the people fully realize the necessity of good educational 
facilities. 



46 



Wahe County : Economic and Social 



SEVEN-YEAR GAINS IN WAKE COUNTY RURAL SCHOOLS, 
1908-09 TO 1915-16 



1908-09 

Total expenditures $62,632.00 

Spent on teachers and supervision. . 28,769.00 

Administration expenses 4,370.00 

New buildings, both races $19,133.00 

Total school population 13,212 

Total enrollment 10,131 

Per cent of enrollment 76 

Average daily attendance 5,826 

Per cent attending 57 

Average annual salaries, white rural $153.59 

School property $126,567.00 

Rural white schools 88 

Having two or more teachers 34 

Per cent having two or more 

teachers 39 

Total rural white teachers 136 

Number rural white teachers with 

four years experience 70 

Number having college diplomas... 36 

White schools with patent desks... 83 

White schools with home-made desks 5 

New schoolhouses, both races 4 

Cost $14,492.00 

Total school districts 88 

Local tax districts, number No report 

Total raised by local district taxes. . $7,820.00 

Note. — * means decrease. 





Per Gent 


1915-16 


Increase 


$156,584.00 


150 


83,085.00 


189 


7,853.00 


80 


$23,905.00 


25 


15,315 


16 


12,522 


24 


81 


5 


7,890 


35 


63 


6 


$344.00 


124 


$306,671.00 


142 


76 


12* 


34 


... 


45 


6 


199 


46 


113 


61 


68 


90 


75 




1 


80* 


7 


75 


$15,854.00 


9 


75 


15* 


45 




$29,972.00 


283 



STATUS OF WAKE COUNTY SCHOOLS, 1913-14 
Rank 

3d in total taxable wealth in 1914 $28,299,788.00 

1st in Investment in rural school property, 1914 $266,569.00 

On a per capita basis, Wake, with $11.02, was out- 
ranked only by New Hanover, Craven, and 
Durham. 
21st in local school tax rate (county and special), on the 

$1,000 $5.97 

Pamlico leads with $8.90, and Hertford comes last 
with $3.45. 
1st in amount spent upon buildings and supplies $95,074.00 



Seven-Year Gains in Rural Schools 47 

18th in salaries paid white rural school teachers $292.40 

State average, $235.27. Of the 169 white teachers in 
the county, all have had four years experience; 
98 have normal training; and 55 had college 
diplomas. 

19th in number of local tax districts; per cent 48.7 

37 out of the total number of 76 school districts levy 
a local tax. 

1st in total revenues from district tax $75,831.00 

Received from State appropriation and equalizing 
fund $14,473, and $1,650 from the High School 
Fund. 

33d in school attendance on enrollment; per cent 76.7 

Watauga leads with 87.3 per cent. Hyde is lowest 
with 55.2 per cent. 
2d in rural white schools with two or more teachers; 

per cent 68.8 

53 of the 77 schools have two or more teachers. 
— in rural white schools with patent desks; per 

cent 100 

75 schoolhouses, and all are equipped with patent 
desks. 

63d in expenditures per high school pupil enrolled $23.18 

An increase of $2.03 over the year 1907-08, at 
which date the county ranked 45th. In 1913-14 
the county had 3 four-year high schools and 2 
two-year high schools with 8 whole and 1 part 
time high school teachers. It raised for high 
schools $2,806, and received from the State 
$1,750. 
11th in high school attendance on enrollment; per cent. . 83.7 
Burke leads with 93.2 per cent; Wayne is lowest 
with 54.3 per cent. 
4th in per capita investment in rural white school prop- 
erty, 1913-14 $11.02 

N. C. average, $5.10. Durham first with $13.97; 
Tyrrell last with 44c. 



Where Wake Leads 

George B. Lay, Raleigh 

Of the many things that Wake County has to be proud of, the 
most impressive is the simple fact that it is the capital county 
of the State and has as a county-seat the progressive city of 
Raleigh, whose business men stand for high ideals and who 
today have "Wide Awake, Raleigh," as an inspiring motto 
uppermost in their minds. 

Raleigh 

Raleigh, with a population of 30,000, has grown from a coun- 
try town, twenty years ago, into a dignified and beautiful city, 
with an enormous business wealth. It is a distributing point 
for many of the most important concerns that do business in 
this State. Its central geographical position and fine railway 
connections, together with the rich trade territory and its possi- 
bilities, are assets that are invaluable, and, in time, should place 
Raleigh ahead of every other city in the State. 

Among the unique assets of Raleigh are the colleges and 
schools that are situated there. The State College of Agriculture 
and Engineering, and the three schools for women — Meredith, 
Peace, and St. Mary's — with their annual influx of girls, are of 
inestimable value to our city, and we are justly proud of them 
all. The numerous State institutions, such as the State School 
for the Blind, the State Hospital for the Insane, and many 
others, make our Capital City a central meeting point for the 
State. Our colored schools, St. Augustine and Shaw Univers- 
ity, the Catholic and the Methodist orphanages are also institu- 
tions of conspicuous worth and influence. We take pride in 
them as a sure indication of our school advancement. Raleigh 
is also the gathering point for many of the most important 



Where Wahe Leads 49 

meetings of the State, not to speak of the State Legislature and 
the State Fair. Our great city auditorium makes Ealeigh the 
logical convention city of the State. 

OuK Schools 

The progress that Wake has made in the last few years in 
improving her schools is remarkable. The amount raised by 
local district taxes for the support of her country schools alone 
increased nearly 300 per cent between 1909-1916. The average 
annual salary of her white rural teachers was more than dou- 
bled during this period, although it is still below a living wage. 
Meanwhile, her country school property increased 142 per cent. 
In every way Wake has stepped to the forefront in public school 
progress in l^orth Carolina. Her per capita investment in rural 
school property, not including the school property of Raleigh, is 
$11.02, which is beyond the State average of $5.10, and very 
near that of the leading county of the State — Durham, with 
$13.97. The average salary of the white teachers in the county, 
town and country, was $429.54 in 1916. Only five counties 
paid more; while her rural white teachers received $292, only 
17 counties paying more. The need of better schools with better- 
paid teachers is evident, because the native white illiterates of 
non-voting age in the county were 9.8 per cent, the illiterate 
white males of voting age were 11.5 per cent of this age group. 

Of late years Wake has pursued the sensible policy of con- 
solidating her rural schools, a step which means better buildings, 
better teachers, and better equipment. She has built some of 
the finest rural high schools in the State, in Gary, Wakelon, 
Holly Springs, and Bay Leaf. Efficiency, better teachers, better 
salaries, and the best equipment possible are some of the ideals 
that Wake County educators have cherished ; and as a result the 
country schools of Wake have made greater progress during the 
last few years than in a whole century before. 
4 



50 Wake County: Economic and Social 

Wake is the capital county of the State, the home of the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of 
Education, and naturally she has led in the development of her 
educational system. As mentioned before, consolidation, better 
paid teachers, and better supervision have been the mainsprings 
of Wake's policy. This development has been going on, slow at 
first, ever since the days of Governor Aycock, who put life into 
public education in North Carolina. Since then the efforts of 
many loyal men have added to the improvement of our schools. 
The work, however, of Wake's former County Superintendent 
of Schools, Mr. Z. V. Judd, and the former Chairman of her 
Board of Education, Mr. L. J. Sears, was untiring and has 
meant more for the county than the average citizen even dreams 
of. Through their efforts the schools of the county were put 
upon a firm basis. They must, however, be enormously 
strengthened to meet the necessities that public education every- 
where will face when this war is over. 

Our present Superintendent, Dr. E. W. Knight, and the 
Chairman of the Board of Education, Mr. E. B. Crow, are ably 
fitted to lead in the fight against the perils that now test our 
country schools and nerve our people to bear the increased bur- 
dens that will come with peace. Our schools must be kept up to 
their former high level, and they must also evidence the growth 
that President Wilson and Lloyd George both insist upon as 
necessary for the public welfare, even in these times of immense 
expenditures for war. It is not a wise policy to cut down the 
local tax or the total of the school appropriations, for our schools 
are the soul of democracy, for which we are fighting today. 

Wealth 

The fact that Wake County ranks third in the State in taxable 
wealth is an enviable record. In 1913 her taxables were $27,- 
211,050, which increased to $31,648,704 in 1916. Her total 
farm wealth in the last census year amounted to $11,982,984, 



^Yllere WaJce Leads 51 

although Wake has not been considered an agricultural county. 
And here we venture to say that it must be so considered in the 
future, if banking and merchandizing are to develop into the 
largest possible proportions in Wake. 

During the period 1900-'09 the increase in value of farm ani- 
mals was 132 per cent, while the State increase was only 109 
per cent. 

In 1916 Wake paid into the State Treasury .$5,328 as personal 
income taxes. Only four counties paid more. In 1913 our 
professional taxes amounted to $895, and only one county paid 
more. But in 1916 nobody paid any professional taxes for 
county support. Here is a defect in our salary plan of paying 
county officers. 

Wake, with 6,137 farms, and ranking in this respect second 
in the State, is also second in annual farm wealth produced. 
The total in 1910 was $4,818,607. This means that our farms 
in two and a half years produced more wealth than our farmers 
have been able to save and accumulate in the last 140 years. 
We know how to make the wealth, but we have not learned how 
to save it. It is a hard lesson, but we must learn it before we 
shall begin to keep our money at home. 

In per capita bank capital. Wake stood sixth in 1915. Her 
average of $15 put Wake high above the State average of $8.50, 
but below the U. S. average of $26.50. We have some of the 
strongest banks in the State. 

In 1914 Wake had 602 miles of improved public roads. It 
was a full half of our total public road mileage, and an increase 
of 75 per cent in four years. Only ten counties at that time 
were building improved public highways more rapidly. But 
in 1916 we had over 800 miles of good roads. Good roads are 
a vital asset to any community, and their improvement and up- 
keep is of paramount importance. 



52 Wake County: Economic and Social 

Low Tax Eate 

In spite of the great amount of money raised by taxes in the 
last few years in Wake for permanent improvements, her com- 
bined State and county rate for all purposes in 1913 was less 
than in 65 other counties in the State. At that time it was only 
89 2/3 cents on the $100; in Yancey County it was $1.68 2/3. 
In 1916 it was only $1.00 2/3, and 39 other counties were carry- 
ing heavier State and county burdens. With her attention fully 
focused on improvement along every line. Wake has made great 
progress, and yet she has kept her State and county rate for all 
purposes at a level so low that there is ample room for a hand- 
some increase in levies for school purposes. But the fact that 
property in Ealeigh is assessed at about 66 2/3 per cent of its 
actual value and in the rural districts at from 10 to 20 per cent, 
has led to a condition that is unfair to the Raleigh taxpayer, and, 
at the same time, is unfair to the county itself. 

Industrial Plants 

The rapid building and improvement of roads in Wake is im- 
portant, because Raleigh is the center of a district that has, 
within one hundred miles, a population of 1,791,908 inhabitants 
and more than seventy-five lively towns. Wake has also 118 
miscellaneous plants; six cotton mills with $1,116,000 of capital. 
In 1916 these cotton mills consumed Y,253,085 pounds of raw 
material and turned out finished goods worth $1,512,154. Our 
six knitting mills had a combined capital of $221,657. With 
our good roads, our farmers have ready access to a good market 
for cotton, tobacco, food crops and animal products of every kind. 
On the other hand, our merchants and mills easily reach their 
customers in the surrounding trade territory. Wake is on the 
right road to success, but with a long way yet to go. 

We have, also, in the county 33 publications, most of which 
are leading publications, and all of which help to push the county 
forward and advertise our advantages to the outside world. 



Where Wake Leads 53 

Ageiculture 

The farmers of any community form the backbone of that 
community, a fact that is not less true of Wake than it is of the 
State as a whole and the ISTation at large. Upon their labor, 
their prosperity, good cheer and high courage depend to a large 
extent the prosperity and wealth of the county. 

Wake County, with a variety of fine soils and advantageous 
seasons and with only one-third of her total acreage under culti- 
vation, has a fine record in the total and the per-acre yield of 
crop wealth. Her per-acre crop yield was $21.34: in the last 
census year, while that of the United States was only $16.31. 
Only 18 other counties in this State yielded larger per-acre crop 
values. Our Boys' Corn Club enrollment in 1914 was the 
largest in the State. At that time there were 352 boys actively 
engaged in this work, and Wake led the State. Two years later 
36 Corn Club boys raised the average yield nine bushels per 
acre and lowered the cost of production five cents a bushel. If 
the farmers of the county would only equal the record these boys 
have made in corn production, an average of 49.2 bushels per 
acre, they could supply the needs of the county and have more 
than one million bushels a year to sell. The boys' average is 
four times that of the farmers of the county. Nevertheless, in 
1910, we were fourth in total corn production, with a yield of 
686,991 bushels. 

The girls in the Canning Clubs of Wake also make an ex- 
cellent showing and give the county a high rank in the produc- 
tion and conservation of home-raised food. In the number of 
girls reporting only two counties made a better showing in 1915, 
and in the money value of their products the county ranked 
fourth. When 135 girls fill 42,269 containers with fruit and 
vegetables, worth more than eight thousand dollars and clear 
profits of nearly six thousand, the value of such work in Wake 
is beyond debate. 



54 Wake County : Economic and Social 

Between 1900 and 1910 we increased our hay and forage 
production by 48 per cent. In this respect we outranked 85 
counties in the State. It is a great forward step for any county 
to take. Abundant, cheap forage means more livestock, and live- 
stock are essential to farm prosperity. 

Wake ranked second in the annual production of farm wealth. 
In 1910 the total was $4,818,607 worth of food crops, animal 
products, cotton, and tobacco. JSTot only was Wake's annual 
total of farm wealth large, but her production per person was 
$24.50 better than the State average. In this respect we stood 
eighteenth among the counties of the State, with a production of 
$109.50 per inhabitant. 

The work that is being done in crop production and animal 
husbandry at the State College of Agriculture and Engineering- 
has already borne fruit in the increase of cattle in Wake. Dur- 
ing the last census period our cattle increased by 31 per cent in 
number, and our poultry 33.3 per cent. Only thirteen counties 
of the State made a greater increase in cattle and only fifteen a 
greater increase in poultry. But best of all, our breeds of cattle, 
pigs, and poultry are improving. 

In 1914 Wake ranked ninth in cotton production, with a total 
of 29,253 bales. But in 1917 her cotton crop fell to but 20,274 
bales ; which means that Wake is producing less cotton but more 
food and feed stuffs. Here is a change of the greatest signifi- 
cance in the development of a safe agriculture in Wake. 

Thus, we can readily see that all the conditions of farm pros- 
perity are present in Wake; but, owing to her rapid growth in 
population, her production of food and feed crops has not kept 
pace with her enlargement along other lines. Her idle acreage, 
two-thirds of the county, should be put to work. 

At a conservative estimate, the 350,000 acres of idle land in 
Wake are worth seven million dollars ; and they represent just 
that much dead capital. Neither the owners of this land, the 



Where Walce Leads 55 

agriculture of the county, nor the business men of Kaleigh can 
afford a dead investment of this huge sort. . 

The production of farm wealth in Wake is based on a tenancy 
system; and undoubtedly the farm tenants of the county rank 
far above the average of the State in industry, sobriety, and 
trustworthiness. 

The explanation ? It lies in the fact that our good country 
schools attract a superior class of tenants into the county and 
hold them there longer than they are accustomed to settle down 
elsewhere. 

In brief, our investment in schools has been the best invest- 
ment the landowners of Wake have ever made. 

Where Wake Leads 

The figures on the left, indicating rank, show how many coun- 
ties make a better showing. 

6th in area ; acres 540,800 

2d in population 63,229 

15th in density of rural population; people to square mile 52.1 

25th in native white illiterates ten years old and over; 

per cent 9.8 

26th in native white illiterate voters, 1,116; per cent. . . . 11.5 

18th in average salary paid white teachers, 1914 $292.00 

State average, $235.27; 169 rural teachers; 98 had 
normal training, 102 four years experience, and 
55 college diplomas. 
6th in average salary of all white teachers in the county, 

including Raleigh $429.54 

18th in marriage rate per 1,000 inhabitants, fifteen years 

old and over, 1914 12.8 

State average, 10.1; Pasquotank, 23.6; marriages in 
Wake, 807. 

38th in birth rate, per 1,000 inhabitants 32.6 

Average for U. S., 1913, 26.6; N. C, 31.2; Clay, 54.4. 

4th in total farm wealth $11,982,984.00 

20th in increase in value of domestic animals; per cent. . 132 

State increase, 109 per cent. 
3d in total taxable property, 1916 $31,648,704.00 



56 Wake County: Economic and Social 

35th in tax rate, State and county, on ?100 in 1913 89% 

3d in income taxes paid, 1913 $4,769.02 

Thirty-three counties paid no income taxes. 

2d in professional taxes paid 1895.00 

11th in improved roads in 1913; per cent 34 

Number of miles, 343; in 1914, 602 miles or 50 per 
cent of the total road mileage (public) ; in 1915, 
800 miles. 

2d in number of farms 6,137 

16th in poultry increase, 1900-1910; per cent 33.3 

Rank in number of fowls on hand, 5th. 

14th in cattle increase, 1900-1910; per cent 31 

9th in cotton production; total crop, 1914, bales 29,253 

12th in tobacco production, 1910; pounds 4,478,073 

2d in annual farm wealth produced $4,818,607.00 

Every two and a half years the farmers produce 
more wealth than they have been able to save and 
accumulate in 140 years. 

19th in crop-yielding power per acre $21.34 

18th in production of annual farm wealth per person $109.50 

4th in corn production; total crops, bushels 686,991 

15th in hay and forage production; total crops, tons 6,060 

1st in Boys' Corn Club enrollment in 1914; boys 314 

15th in Girls' Canning Club enrollment; number of girls 20 

(All data taken from the 1910 Census unless otherwise mentioned.) 



Our Problems and Their Solution 

George B. Lay, Raleigh 

The many reasons that we have to be proud of Wake County 
have been pointed out in the Last chapter. In these respects she 
leads or ranks with the topmost counties in the State. There 
are, however, some vital defects in the economic and social life 
of Wake. They must be remedied if the county is to move into 
her rightful position of leadership in the State. 

The fact that we are near the bottom of the list in many par- 
ticulars of economic and social importance will doubtless astound 
many of our people. If this were not the case, there would be 
no need of this little book and the suggestions that we offer with 
the hope of aiding our home county in her upward and onward 
development. We do not lead in everything ; in fact, we are at the 
end of the list in many respects. All of our problems, then, are 
not already solved ; nor can they be solved without the coopera- 
tion of our business men and bankers, our farmers, teachers, and 
religious leaders. It will take the federated efforts of them all 
to remedy our deficiencies, and to bring every detail of com- 
munity life to the high levels we have reached in many particu- 
lars. This will require constant work, lively interest, and cour- 
ageous support from all our people. 

The most important facts of this discussion are tabulated at 
the end of this chapter. If Wake ranks ninetieth in one detail, 
it seems that 89 other counties have a better record. 

Our Rural Population and Our Idle Lands 

The fact that Wake ranked sixtieth in rural population in- 
crease in the last census period shows that we have not had a 
healthy growth, during recent years, in the rural parts of the 
county. This is to be explained, in part, by the fact that we 



58 WaJce County: Economic and Social 

stand fifteenth in density of rural population, but only in part. 
For Wake is second in total population in the whole State. For 
this reason, our density in rural population, if the farmers of 
the county ever hope to support the growing city of Raleigh, 
must be closer to our standing in total population. Since two- 
thirds of the total area of the county is uncultivated, we have 
ample room for 4,000 more farm families, which means an 
increase of 20,000 in rural population. A fifty per cent increase 
of this sort would immediately increase the volume of farm 
wealth produced, and this would mean more business for mer- 
chants and bankers; more labor to draw upon in establishing 
new industrial enterprises; and a better chance for the country 
people to draw closer together in cooperative effort for better 
farming, better schools and churches. These are all fundamen- 
tal concerns in economic and social development. What better 
thing could the farmers and the Chamber of Commerce do to- 
gether than to attract four thousand new farm families into 
Wake and to turn into active capital the seven million dollars of 
dead capital now buried in idle acres ? 

Farm Tenancy and the Crop-Lien Evil, 

Besides the fact that Wake has nearly 350,000 idle acres, we 
must face the fact that, like the rest of the South, Wake County 
is sadly crippled by farm tenancy and the crop-lien evil. These 
two systems reduce 54 per cent of our farmers to the lowest 
possible level of material prosperity and make impossible the 
hope and high courage that are necessary to social progress. 
And, mind you, more than half, or 1,700, of our tenant farmers 
are whites. They are our own kith, kin, and kind. They 
ought to live on the highest and not on the lowest economic 
levels. The way out for them lies in cotton and tobacco farm- 
ing, based on live-at-home, bread-and-meat foundations. But 
our tenants will always raise more cotton and tobacco and neg- 
lect food and feed crops until they are allowed or required by 



Our Problems aiid Their Solution 59 

the landlords, the supply merchants, and the bankers of the 
county to grow their own supplies at home. This is the states- 
man-like policy of the Texas bankers. They are refusing to 
accept as collateral crop liens protected by cotton acreage alone. 
Acceptable crop liens must be written in terms of cotton and 
feed crops, under what they call the half-and-half system. That 
is to say, the bankers are forcing the supply merchants to force 
the farmers to farm on a live-at-home basis. The plan holds 
down in Texas, this year, nearly a half billion dollars ; it would 
hold down in Wake some eight million dollars, at present food 
prices. Wake has long enough tried to grow rich by purchasing 
farm supplies with cotton and tobacco money. The result is a 
per-capita country wealth in farm properties averaging $210, 
against $322 in the State, $944 in the United States, and $3,386 
in Iowa. 

And Wake must solve the problem of local markets for home- 
raised food and feed crops. The farmers can now turn their 
cotton and tobacco crops into instant ready cash ; but not so with 
their corn, wheat, oats, hay and forage, their pork, beef and 
mutton, their butter, eggs and poultry. They will not bother 
with these as long as they must peddle them from door to door, 
or stand in the market place all the day idle as at present. 
The changing of such a system is a matter that needs the co- 
operation of the business men of the county, the public officials, 
and the farmers. The rent and the crop-lien contracts must 
include a stipulation to the effect that the tenant must devote a 
certain definite acreage year by year to food and feed crops — 
enough to supply himself, his family, and his farm animals dur- 
ing the growing and marketing seasons. 

How serious the condition in Wake County is can be readily 
understood from the fact that 54 per cent of our farms are cul- 
tivated by tenants, more than half of them being white and also 
more than half croppers. Ownership, not tenancy, should be 
the condition of our farmers. Hand in hand with ownership 



CO Wake County: Economic and Social 

goes the stimulus of initiative, for a farm owner will take a 
more lively interest in his farm than the tenant who cares to 
produce little besides cotton and tobacco. What is worse, tenants 
move about from place to place, are little identified with any 
one community, and in the nature of things feel a minimum 
responsibility for local law and order. This economic and social 
evil grows on us apace. It is dying out little by little in 47 
counties of the State, but steadily increases in Wake. We need 
more home-owning farmers and fewer tenants. 

In the matter of farm mortgages, also. Wake is considerably 
behind. The white farmers in 55 counties and the negro farm- 
ers in 29 counties make a better showing than they do in Wake. 
This condition, which is again typical of the South in general, 
is the penalty that the owners of farm lands pay for the pre- 
vailing cash-crop, crop-lien system in Wake. It is a drawback 
to our economic development, and it must decrease. 

OuK Ill-Balanced Fakm System 

Any system of farming is ill-balanced that does not produce 
(1) cash crops in reasonable amounts, (2) food crops enough to 
feed the farm family and the farm animals, and (3) that does 
not have farm animals enough to consume the waste and to yield 
a steady income through the year. The fact that Wake in 1910 
sent out of the community $4,000,000 to import the food and 
feed products that we failed to raise at home is enough to show 
that our farm system is ill-balanced and unsafe. Our farm- 
tenancy, crop-lien systems form the basis of this intolerable situ- 
ation. It explains why we are forty-ninth in per-capita rural 
wealth in the State, which is an exceedingly bad record consid- 
ering the natural resources of our county, our fine soils, our good 
seasons, our high average crop values per acre, our good high- 
ways, and our excellent railway facilities. Our vacant lands 
have hindered the bettering of this condition, but, on the whole, 
the main trouble is, as I have also pointed out, the fact that we 



Our Problems atid Their Solution 61 

pay too much attention to cotton and tobacco and too little to 
food crops, livestock and livestock products. The wealth of a 
community depends on a well-balanced farm system, and this is 
just as true of the merchants and the bankers as for the farmers 
themselves. 

Only one-third of our total crop values are produced by food 
crops, a condition that gives us a low rank in this particular. 
While we rank in cotton and tobacco production among the very 
best counties in the State, we nearly foot the list in the per- 
capita production of food and feed. In two and one-half years 
the farmers of Wake produce more wealth than they have been 
able to accumlate in 140 years, due largely to our ill-balanced 
farm system. Sixty-seven per cent of our yearly crop values 
are produced by cotton and tobacco alone ; and less than a third 
of our annual crop wealth is produced by food and feed crops. 
In the census year we needed $84 worth of food per inhabitant, 
we raised only $31 worth, which left a deficit of $53 a person, 
counting every man, woman, and child in the county. The total 
bill for imported supplies was some four million dollars. These 
figures mean that our county needs to be headed in another direc- 
tion. We must raise more food. If we could make Wake 
County self-supporting during this war, we would be doing a 
very great deal more than our "bit" to win the war. We would 
release for use in Europe large quantities of food that we have 
been importing yearly. We would hold down at home the 
King's ransom that we have been sending outside the State for 
imported food supplies. We would, in this way, reduce the 
cost of living in the county and in Raleigh. According to Gov- 
ernment figures, Raleigh is one of the six most expensive cities 
to live in in the whole United States. And yet, Raleigh is the 
center of a farm area that in possibilities and advantages is the 
very best in the State. We have the prerequisites for an enor- 
mous development in our agriculture and for undreamed of 
wealth in Raleigh, but we have not yet made the best of our 



62 Wake County : Economic and Social 

opportunities. Ealeigh needs to be the center of a well devel- 
oped food-producing region, and she must get busy with plans 
to promote prosperity, high courage, and good cheer among the 
farmers in her trade territory. 

Besides the lack of food crops, we are also backward in live- 
stock and the production of animal products. In 1910 our farm 
animals of all sorts were only 22 per cent of the number required 
in even a lightly stocked farm area. We were 78 per cent de- 
ficient in the number of livestock on hand, and 64 counties made 
a better showing. 

Since 1860 (see last page at end of article on Farm Condi- 
tions, Farm Practices, and the Local Market Problem) our cat- 
tle have decreased 67 per cent in number, our hogs 87 per cent, 
and our sheep 95 per cent. Such decreases are almost unbe- 
lievable. It seems reasonable to svippose that these industries 
would naturally keep pace with the increase in population ; but 
such has not been the case in Wake, according to the data of the 
Federal census reports. Up to 1910 we raised more and more 
cotton and tobacco and less and less feed and food. However, 
we increased the number of cattle 31 per cent between 1900 
and 1910; but such increases must continue for a long time in 
order to produce meat and dairy products enough for home con- 
sumption and surpluses to market. In the census year we im- 
ported over four and a quarter million pounds of meat, two and 
a half million pounds of butter, nearly two million fowls, and 
three-quarter million dozens of eggs. This condition should 
not exist. We must not let it exist, as it drains our ready-cash 
strength, boosts the price of living, and stunts the growth of 
industries. 

Co-oPEEATioN-, Livestock: Two Solutions 

Considering the fact that we import such enormous amounts 
of breadstuffs and animal foods, we must act, and act immedi- 
ately, if we wish to redeem our standing and increase in wealth 
and prosperity. We can do this if we will only develop the 



Our Problems and Their Solution 63 

spirit and the practice of cooperation. Not only must the farm- 
ers cooperate with one another, but with the bankers, the mer- 
chants, and the consumers. On the other hand, the bankers, 
merchants, and consumers must go more than half way to meet 
the farmers in the way of fair-mindedness. 

A sound system of lending money and of buying lands on the 
installment plan (the small farmer can buy on no other) must 
include a proviso forcing the tenant or the buyer to raise all the 
bread and meat needed for home supply. The banks can stimu- 
late local interest in livestock farming by importing and selling 
superior breeds of farm animals on easy terms, or in backing 
the county demonstration agent in such enterprises. The Com- 
mercial !N'ational Bank of Raleigh, cooperating with the Exten- 
sion Bureau of the State Department of Agriculture, is already 
interested and active in this direction. When their new build- 
ing was built, they placed at the disposal of the farmers a room, 
off their lobby, the first of the kind in the whole South. Some 
time ago this bank exhibited a fine Jersey cow in its lobby, and 
offered to lend money on easy terms to the farmers wanting to 
buy better dairy animals. Three carloads of these fine cows have 
already been ordered through their initial efforts. The Com- 
mercial National Bank has also exhibited pigs, poultry, and 
sheep within their lobby, and intends to give an exhibit of this 
nature monthly. Other banks are also doing valuable work. 

With cooperation of this direct sort on part of the bankers 
and merchants, we may expect a great increase in our food and 
feed products in the near future. 

Adequate Market Facilities : Theie Meaning 

The greatest hindrance, however, to the farmer in the produc- 
tion of abudant foodstuffs is the fact that Raleigh has no ade- 
quate marketing facilities. His cotton and tobacco are easily 
marketed, but not his food products. "He must peddle his 
fruits, nuts, and vegetables, butter and eggs, meat and poultry, 



64 Wake County: Economic and Social 

from door to door, or stand in the market place all the day wait- 
ing. It is bothersome, wasteful of time, embarrassing, and un- 
remunerative. The producers and consumers of food products 
are as far apart as if they lived on different planets. The farm- 
ers are shy of cultivating housewives at back doors ; and house- 
wives are too close to telephones to visit a market place, a Sab- 
bath day's journey distant; Raleigh is not yet provided with 
grain and hay warehouses, cold storage plants for perishable 
products, or credit accommodation upon stored food products; 
with ample market spaces for free, open-air trading; with con- 
venient camping sheds, hitching grounds, and feeding stalls ; 
with rest-rooms for the country people provided with lavatory 
and toilet facilities, chairs and lounges, books, newspapers, and 
magazines to make the country people feel the warmth of city 
hospitality. Ealeigh is not ready to handle the big four-million- 
dollar trade in home-raised foodstuffs."* 

Without adequate market facilities we cannot expect the 
farmer to balance up his farm system with food crops and farm 
animals. The cooperation of the grocers, quick and fair market 
facilities, and a more clean-cut attitude on the part of all con- 
cerned will produce the results desired. If any one of these 
classes is continually trying to overreach the other instead of 
working with him for mutual advantage, the results will be dis- 
astrous. They must all be patriotic enough to realize that only 
by strict cooperation can Raleigh hold down at home some four 
million dollars in ready cash year by year, increase the pros- 
perity of the farmers, and at the same time lower the cost of 
living in Raleigh. 

The very largest asset of Wake County of late years is a group 
of alert, enterprising men in the Chamber of Commerce, the 
Rotary Club, the Y. M. C. A., and other civic organizations. 
Together they can successfully attack and solve the economic and 
social problems of Wake. Prosperity of a greater sort is easily 
ahead of us, and they can lead us into it. 



*Tl]e Local Market Problem in Wake: by the Wake County Club. — Kaleigh Timex. 



Our Problems and Their Solution 65 

High Death Rate 

The Health Survey of Ealeigh, which has just been published, 
gives the death rate for the fiscal year, in Raleigh, as 27.8 per 
thousand, a condition that is intolerable. The rate in the county 
in 1914 was 17 per thousand. Raleigh's death rate affects that 
of the county, and the struggle now proceeding to eliminate abso- 
lutely from Raleigh the 1,500 open privies will materially reduce 
the death rate in Raleigh, and, therefore, in Wake. Dysentery 
and typhoid diseases go hand in hand with such conditions as 
now exist in Raleigh. We should not stop fighting this evident 
evil until these conditions are absolutely cleared up. Our State 
institutions, of course, increase our death rate, but in all large 
cities the same condition exists, and does not excuse the high 
death rate in Wake. 

Better Schools, the Watchword 

The more civilized the community, the better the schools, the 
higher the salaries of the teachers, and the greater the attend- 
ance and advancement of the pupils. In these matters Wake 
County has done some wonderful work, but a word of reminder 
here is not out of place. We must never for an instant stop 
our efforts at progress. We must make this necessary agency of 
social life, on which the progress of the whole county depends, 
the best possible. We are on the highway towards this goal, but 
strenuous efforts are still needed to place us on a par with the 
best educational standards that exist in this country. 

Church Membership 

In 1906, the date of the last published Census of Religious 
Bodies, 46 per cent of the people of Wake, 10 years old and 
over, were on the rolls of the various churches. In ratio of 
church membership, only 37 counties made a better showing. 
Where less than half of the people of responsible ages are in the 
5 



66 Wake County: Economic and Social 

church, there is manifest room for vital activity on the part of 
church organizations. The large per cent of non-church mem- 
bership, 54 per cent, is directly related to our large ratios of 
tenancy, town and country, to rural illiteracy and near illiteracy. 
These correspondences are not only coincidental, but causal in 
Wake and everywhere else in JSTorth Carolina. Tenancy, both 
in Ealeigh and in our country regions, and illiteracy and near- 
illiteracy are fundamental social menaces to the church; and 
our church authorities need to get busy with these social ills. 

Co-OPEEATION 

After a survey of such facts as these, we are brought to the 
inevitable conclusion that the solution of all these problems de- 
pends upon cooperation between the farmers on the one hand, 
and the lawyers, merchants, bankers, teachers and preachers of 
the cities and towns on the other. The country supplies our 
food and many of our most prominent men of affairs ; the city in 
return must supply market and credit facilities. The cities can- 
not grow without a healthy countryside to back them ; likewise, 
the rural communities need the active backing of a live and 
prosperous town or city. With better cooperation, we shall be 
able to "get together" on these problems and place Wake County 
high in the list of the most progressive counties of the State and 
the ISTation. 

OUR PROBLEMS AND THEIR SOLUTION 

(Data based on 1910 Census of Department of Agriculture) 

60th in rural population increase during the census period; 

per cent 7.4 

38th in church membership in 1906; per cent 46 

State average, 40. 
69th in negro farm owners; per cent of all negro farmers. . 27 

53d in swine decrease, 1900-1910; per cent 11 

69 counties decreased; only 29 increased. 
67th in sheep losses, 1900-1910; per cent 62 



Our Problems aTid Their Solution 67 

73d in farm tenancy; per cent 54.3 

Ten-year increase of 1.1 per cent in Wake; 47 coun- 
ties decreased. 
86th. in non-food crops produced — cotton, tobacco, etc. — value $2,832,626.00 
Cotton and tobacco produce annually 67 per cent of 
the total crop wealth. 

85th in food and feed production; per person $31.00 

Needed, $84 per person; deficit, $53 per person. Total 
deficit, $3,987,000 in 1910. 

86th in food and feed crops; per cent of total crop values. . 31 

86th in corn produced per person; bushels 11 

54th in wheat production per person; bushels .4 

72d in beef production per person; pounds 16 

97th in egg deficit; total dozen 672,700 

86th in ten-year increase of farm sales of dairy products; 

per cent 24 

97th in bill for imported foods and feed supplies; in 1910. . $3,987,000.00 

85th in pork production; per person, pounds 52 

72d in poultry production; per person, fowls 5 

65th in live stock on hand; per cent of a lightly stocked area 22 



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